Spawn of Strife
by kelleyj17
Summary: Taking advice from Yuffie Kisaragi was like trying to snatch an egg from under a sleeping condor - ill advised unless you were starving to death, and questionable even then. Tifa should know better. But when Cloud refuses to even discuss having a baby, it's time for desperate measures. What is he so afraid of, anyway?
1. Babysitters

A/N: Special thanks to Denebola Leo for planting this seed and giving me permission to run with it. She gave me the kick in the ass I needed to start writing again.

**Chapter 1: Babysitters**

* * *

Tifa hummed to herself as she washed the dishes after dinner. It was Sunday, the day Seventh Heaven was closed so that they could spend some time together as a family, and both Cloud and Denzel were in an exceptionally good mood that evening.

She sensed Cloud's presence before she heard him; he had this aura about him, this feeling of power that Tifa recognized when he was nearby. She rubbed the washcloth over the plate and set it in the basin, and was just plunging her hands back into the hot, soapy water when she felt warm, dry hands touching the exposed skin at her sides, then sliding together to rest on her taut belly.

She picked up a glass and shoved the washcloth inside, giggling as his spikes tickled her cheek. "Cloud, I'm trying to do something here," she said, attempting to sound stern.

"So am I," he said into the curve of her neck, pressing himself against her back.

She tried to suppress the warm shudder as his lips grazed lightly over her neck. "Denzel could come in any second," she protested weakly.

"Denzel went to Lexi's house," he whispered, his spikes now tickling her sensitive ear. His left hand slid down her arm and over her hand, linking their fingers together in the hot water. Their rings rubbed together, and the memory of their simple ceremony – long overdue, in everyone's opinion – warmed her from the inside.

But she really wanted to get the kitchen cleaned up so that she could get started painting in the bar before it got too dark. She used her free hand to put the glass in the dish rack, trying her best to ignore him. It didn't work for long, because his right hand was moving down and...oh gods. The dishes could wait.

Tifa let her head fall back on his shoulder, breathing his name. He took that as implicit permission to take her higher, and her breathing steadily grew heavier until she couldn't take any more. She turned around to face him, taking his face in her bubbly hands and redirecting his mouth to hers. Buckles clinked and buttons popped as he backed them through the kitchen doorway. He picked her up and set her on top of the bar, pulling back long enough to give his attention to removing the rest of her clothes.

"Out here?" Tifa gasped, looking around nervously. "Someone might walk in on us!"

"I know," Cloud said, his eyes glowing as he grinned mischievously.

She never could say no to that grin.

* * *

She always took a bit longer to recover than he did. She lay sprawled across the bar in a contented afterglow, watching him calmly pulling on his clothes. She loved that she could stare at him all she wanted now. Once upon a time she'd been too shy for anything except quick glances at his slender, nicely muscled form. "How can you…just jump up so quick…after that?" she asked, stretching languidly.

He was down on one knee, tying on a boot, but he looked up from under his messy, spiky hair. "Well, like you said…someone could walk in at any time," he said with a teasing grin, laughing as she jumped up and frantically began redressing. She fumbled with her bra and then fought with her top, taking an unnecessarily long time before realizing she was trying to shove her head through an arm hole. Cloud, being almost completely dressed, just watched her scrambling in amusement with one hand in his pocket.

"My…my panties," she said distractedly, searching under the bar, looking between dusty bottles and clean glasses. "Cloud, I can't find my panties!"

"I'm sure they'll turn up," he said with a shrug. As he spoke, her phone started playing a distorted tune from the far side of the bar. He walked over and picked it up, turning off the alarm. "Time for your pill," he said. "You might as well just get a new pair while you're upstairs."

"I can't just leave it for someone else to find!" she said, exasperated. "What if Denzel finds it when he's working?"

"Denzel's not a child anymore," Cloud shrugged. "He'll understand." Indeed, Denzel was 19 now. He still lived at Seventh Heaven, although now he earned his room and board working at the bar. "What do you think he's doing all those nights he stays at Lexi's place?"

Tifa cringed. "I…would rather not think about it," she muttered, finally giving up on her underwear search. "Well, just keep an eye out for it, would you?" she asked. "I still don't think he really needs to see it."

"Sure," Cloud said. Then he followed her back to the kitchen, his hand still stuck in one bulging pocket.

* * *

Yuffie maneuvered the stroller over the uneven threshold of the door, while her oldest son, Jacky, obediently held the door open.

Tifa perked up from behind the bar. Thirteen years ago she would have scoffed at the idea, but she and Yuffie had actually become very close friends. "Hey, it's the E-clan!" she said cheerfully. Yuffie had fallen in love with a man named Maury, and they thought it would be amusing to name all their kids with the same 'ee' sound at the end. It was. It was less amusing when they added it to everyone else's name.

"Auntie Teefy!" Her middle child, Nicky, now four years old, nimbly hopped over one wheel of the stroller, gleefully ignoring his mother's struggles.

Tifa came around the bar and squatted down to receive her flying hug. The average person might have fallen over backwards with the gale force of the charging little boy, but Tifa had religiously stuck to her training, and she was nearly as solid and toned now, at 32, as she had been at 20. "Hey little man!" she said, ruffling his long black hair.

"Auntie Teefy, can we have ice cweam tonight?" he asked, his big, innocent eyes sparkling with excitement.

"We'll see," Tifa said with a small smile. "If you can be a big boy and eat all your lima beans, I might be able to find some ice cream back there somewhere."

Nicky's face fell. "Lima beans? Teefy, lima beans are so gwoss! Why you make me eat 'em?" He crossed his arms over his little chest and stuck out his lower lip in an exaggerated pout.

"You always say you want to be big and strong like Uncle Cloud," she said with a shrug. "How do you think he got that way?" Cloud was strong by anyone's standards; he wouldn't usually be considered big, but he seemed to leave that impression on children. These boys looked up to him just as much as Denzel had as a kid.

Nicky's eyebrows furrowed. "From lima beans?" he asked doubtfully.

"Yep," Tifa nodded solemnly. "Plus…some other things," she added vaguely.

Tifa left the little boy to ponder that as she stood up to greet Jacky, Yuffie's oldest boy at seven. He was unusually small for his age, and also unusually mature. He reminded Tifa of a young Marlene – wise beyond her years, and far too serious for a child. Now sixteen, she had become passionate about finding sustainable energy sources. She had compiled an impressive amount of research on the subject, and had finally convinced Barret to let her move across the continent to work with him.

"Hello Auntie Teefy," he said politely as he hugged her. His formal way of speaking clashed oddly with his family's propensity to add "ee" to everyone's name.

Tifa smiled down at him. "Hello, Jacky."

"Are we going to play War tonight?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I think we can find some time for that," she said lightly. He grinned and ran off, and Tifa zeroed in on the stroller, where baby Lonnie was busy gnawing on those curious long things at the end of her arm. She had a look of utmost concentration on her face, as if determined that today would be the day that her exploring mouth would figure out what those things were. Tifa unstrapped the little girl and scooped her up, holding her close and inhaling her sweet baby smell.

Yuffie was busy unloading an enormous diaper bag, along with traveling bags for each of the kids. "Teef, are you sure you're ok with this?" she asked, untangling the strap from her hair. "I mean, Sunday's supposed to be your family night."

A distorted tune started playing from the vicinity of Tifa's hips, and she absently turned off the alarm, giving her friend a stern look. "You guys are family," she said. "Anyway, Cloud's going to be working late and Denzel ditched me for Lexi as usual, so I would've been all alone if you guys didn't come to keep me company. And," she said, giving the two boys a meaningful look, "it's been forever since I had a sleepover."

Nicky and Jacky grinned back at her. Sleepovers with Tifa and Cloud meant romping around all evening with Cloud, then a bubble bath together in that big, claw-foot tub, playing with toys that had made many journeys through the imaginations of Denzel and Marlene, and then curling up in bed with Tifa, letting her soothing voice lull them into a blissful sleep. She might walk a hard line about lima beans, but Tifa was a total pushover when it came to bedtimes, and she let them stay up so much later than they could at home.

"Thanks a million, Teef, you're the best. Maury is horny as hell lately and we need a little ee-err ee-err time, ya know?" Yuffie laughed, imitating the squeak of bed springs.

Tifa glanced over at the kids in alarm, but the boys were too busy crawling on the furniture to even care what the adults were talking about. Yuffie was always so much more comfortable with things like that, openly talking about sex like they were discussing what to cook for dinner. Tifa wondered if she taught her kids about the birds and the bees as soon as they were old enough to walk.

Lonnie tugged playfully at a wisp of hair that had come loose from Tifa's braid and babbled nonsense. Tifa automatically smiled down at the baby, giving her a kiss on her slobbery mouth.

"Alright, I'm out," Yuffie said, finally freed of her heavy burdens. "Be good, boys," she called over to Nicky and Jacky. "Love you guys."

"Yeah, bye," Nicky said distractedly. Jacky didn't even bother to answer. He was rolled up in a throw blanket, and his older brother was dragging him across the floor, both giggling like mad as Nicky banged him into furniture and walls.

Yuffie sighed and shook her head. "You'd think pushing their giant watermelon heads out of my vagina would at least earn a wave when I leave, but…" She gave Tifa a quick hug. "Call me if you need anything. You know the drill. I'll be here at noon tomorrow."

"Noon?" Tifa asked, shifting Lonnie to her other arm.

"Well yeah. I mean, we'll need time for morning banging too, ya know," she said, rolling her eyes at Tifa. "Latah, sistah," she called over her shoulder, letting the door shut behind her with a bang.

* * *

Tifa may have been exaggerating a bit when she'd said Cloud was working late. The WRO never kept Cloud past six unless there was an emergency, but she didn't want Yuffie to feel guilty about leaving the kids. Hell, who was she kidding? She loved it when the kids stayed over, maybe even more than they did. She had Cloud all the time.

They ate dinner together - Nicky looking resolutely at Cloud before muscling down his lima beans - and the boys earned a good couple of hours playing with Cloud while Tifa cleaned up. That must have ranked higher than ice cream, because they never even asked about it.

Tifa took a bit longer than usual, both because she knew Cloud would help the kids burn up their restless energy, and because she kept stopping to talk to Lonnie in her swing. The poor child got the full narrative of the cleaning of a kitchen. When she finally finished, Tifa picked up the little girl and went to find the boys. She found them in the disaster that used to be Marlene's bedroom.

The beds had been stripped of their blankets and pillows. The sheets were clipped to the curtain with clothespins and hung over the closet doors, making a translucent ceiling for their hideout. The blankets were tucked, folded, and clipped to anything that could hold them up. There were some strange noises coming from behind Marlene's old quilt, which made up the wall at the foot of the beds. Tifa lifted it, and the sounds stopped abruptly.

She leaned down and clamped her hand over her mouth to hide the laugh. The three of them looked like they'd been caught with their hand in an electric cookie jar. They were comically frozen in place. Jacky and Nicky's long black hair practically sparked with static electricity, making it stand straight up, much like Cloud's did naturally. Cloud misinterpreted her hand over her mouth.

"We'll clean it up," he said immediately, and his dark minions nodded in earnest agreement.

When Tifa was sure she could speak without laughing, she removed her hand. "All right," she said, shaking her head indulgently. "I'm going to start their bath."

Bath time fell to Cloud due to popular vote. Kids really loved Cloud, although he never could see why. Tifa was slightly hurt, but only for a moment. It would give her a chance to get Lonnie fed and put down.

She really was a good baby. Her bottle was overdue, but she wasn't even fussing yet. She waited patiently while Tifa warmed it up, jabbering and blowing bubbles with her saliva. When Tifa was satisfied that the temperature was perfect, she offered the bottle to the baby, who grabbed it eagerly and immediately began sucking it down. Tifa smiled. The little girl seemed ravenous at first, but soon enough she slowed down, tiny lids drooping over tiny eyes. Tifa gently stroked the soft tuft of jet-black hair, so much like her brothers'.

When the boys had been babies, she had adored feeding them. She and Cloud had been together, but it always felt temporary, and Tifa lived in constant dread that she would wake up alone in her bed. She was certain that the floor would fall through and Cloud would evaporate from their lives like he'd never even been there. He hadn't left, of course, not since his Geostigma had cleared. He had sworn never to leave them again, assured her over and over that he wanted to be there with her, with them, but to Tifa, it always felt like he had one foot out the door.

After one particularly vivid nightmare, Cloud had awoken to her crying. After he'd held her in his arms and reassured her for several minutes, he'd managed to pry the dream out of her. "Damn, Tifa," he sighed wearily. "What do I have to do to make you believe I'm not going anywhere?"

"Marry me," she said suddenly, looking up at him with intense brown eyes.

Cloud looked taken aback. He blinked several times, his mouth opening and closing. "I didn't…I mean, that wasn't…Tifa, I…"

Tifa instantly regretted her words. She didn't mean to push him; it was just that the dream had felt so real. She'd been forced to watch him fall in love with someone else, marry someone else, and what was to stop him from doing it for real? He had made no formal commitment to Tifa. They were just living together, playing house, really.

Tifa had pulled away and rolled on her side, pulling the blanket tightly over her shoulder. "Never mind. It's fine. Let's just go back to bed."

Cloud had stared at her curled form for several minutes, finally lying back down next to her. "I…I do love you, Tifa," he said to her back. "I just…" He tried to find something to say, to make it better, but he never was good with words, and he finally sighed and gave up.

The years had passed, and still, he hadn't left. They had raised two kids together - kids that weren't theirs, but they were a family nonetheless, and Tifa wouldn't have changed it for the world. As Marlene and Denzel grew older, and Yuffie brought new babies into her life, Tifa treasured her time with them, but she knew it wasn't the right time for her to have one of her own. Cloud couldn't even commit to her; how could she expect him to commit to the decades that would be required to raise a child?

But one day, out of the blue, Cloud had proposed. It was rushed and awkward and utterly adorable. By that time, as they neared their thirties, Tifa had already resigned herself to her reality, determined to just enjoy the present and stop worrying about the future. Now, finally, he was giving her a future. Nothing really changed, but everything had changed.

A milk-scented sigh brought Tifa back to the present. She looked down at Lonnie, who had fallen asleep in her arms. The nipple of the bottle sat loosely in her lax mouth. "Oh, shoot," Tifa said, setting the bottle on the end table. "Wake up, baby. You need to burp." She brought Lonnie's head up against her shoulder, jogging her slightly. Tifa used to scoff at Yuffie's advice, not wanting to wake the boys when they were sleeping so peacefully, and they'd never given her a single bit of trouble. Lonnie was a different story. Tifa had once let Lonnie sleep after feeding, only to awaken an hour later, screaming in pain and pulling up her pudgy little knees. Tifa tried everything she could think of to calm the little girl, but the baby was inconsolable. It wasn't until she had spit up half of her bottle on Tifa's shirt that she finally relaxed and fell back asleep.

Yuffie had only shrugged, later, when she told her. "Live and learn, Teef," she chuckled. Sure, it was easy to laugh by then, when the gas had passed and Lonnie was a sleeping angel, but Tifa hadn't forgotten how horrible she'd felt.

Now, Lonnie was grudgingly opening her eyes as Tifa began patting her back. Tifa stood and walked upstairs as she burped the baby, feeling oddly proud of each watery belch. A low rumbling sound drew her to the open bathroom door. She leaned against the doorway and watched as Cloud, his hands in the tub up to his elbows, drove around his little boat, making the rumbling sound of a motor with his mouth. Nicky and Jacky chased his boat with their own, their motors higher pitched and sounding rather ill, and clearly defying the laws of physics.

Then Lonnie gave an especially loud burp, and their high-stakes boat chase was ended abruptly. Cloud looked over at her, immediately pulling his arms from the water. He seemed embarrassed to be caught acting like a kid. Tifa tilted her head and smiled. "Don't let me ruin your fun."

Cloud chuckled. "No, it's ok. It's time to get out anyway." He reached over and pulled out the drain plug, and the water began spiraling down with a loud slurp.

"Aww," said Jacky and Nicky in unison, still holding their little boats. They were really just pieces of scrap wood that Cloud had sanded down in a vague boat shape when Denzel and Marlene were little, but they had somehow become their favorite toys.

"But if you get ready for bed really quick, maybe Auntie Tifa will let you pick which stories she tells tonight."

Tifa smiled. "Let me put her down first," she said, gesturing to the baby in her arms. Cloud nodded, already lifting one dripping boy out of the tub.

Bringing Lonnie into the room that had been Cloud's office once upon a time, Tifa picked up her blankie and rubbed it gently against the baby's face. It was soft and fuzzy – luxurious materials that Tifa could never have afforded, but Yuffie had done quite well for herself. She owned the largest materia shop on the planet, and had turned out to be one hell of a businesswoman.

The blankie had a soothing effect on the baby, and her eyes were already beginning to droop as Tifa laid it out on the bed and wrapped Lonnie up like a burrito. She held her little baby burrito in her arms and gently bounced her. Lonnie's eyes were closed within seconds. Tifa stared down at the baby, feeling almost disappointed that she had fallen asleep so quickly. She didn't want to put her down. She ran her finger over velvety soft cheeks, staring at the innocent little face.

Cloud came in behind her, chuckling as he found her still standing over the bassinet. He put his arms around her, beneath the arms cradling the baby, and rested his chin on her shoulder. "The boys are waiting for you," he said.

"Okay," she said absently, her eyes still locked on the baby. "Cloud? I want one."

The arms surrounding her froze. "One what?" he asked carefully.

"A baby. I want us to have one."

His arms left her. "We can't. I can't. You know this."

She turned around, surprised to find him looking stony. "I know you're a little nervous—"

"A little nervous?" He interrupted incredulously, throwing up his arms. "Tifa, those experiments, the mako…I don't even know if I can…"

"Shh!" She cautioned him. "You'll wake her." She turned back to the bassinet and gently laid down her precious bundle. When she next looked up at Cloud, he had a familiar look in his eyes, that awful stubborn set of his jaw.

Tifa came a step closer and reached for him, but he backed away. "We can at least try, right? If it doesn't work, we'll think of something else, but…"

"No, Tifa."

She frowned. Cloud was always afraid that he wasn't good enough, but if he could be convinced to try, she could show him that he truly was. He always had been. "Cloud, you'll never know if you could if we never—"

"I won't," he said firmly, and there was a note of such finality in his voice that she shut her mouth. Then she felt a small hand impatiently tugging on hers.

"Teefy, it's time foe the stowy. I picked one but Jacky wanted a diffewent one, so you have to wead both, okay?"

Tifa shook herself and looked down at the little boy. He was wearing footie pajamas, and his black hair was still damp from his bath. "Sure, Nicky," she said with a forced smile. She glanced back over her shoulder as he led her from the room. Cloud stared back, his face as cold as stone.


	2. The Way She Is

**Chapter 2: The Way She Is**

Cloud's hands trembled at his sides. He stood there listening to them getting settled in Marlene's old bedroom, negotiating what they were going to read and in what order. His head was a tangled mass of emotions, although no one else would have guessed it, watching him calmly turn off the light and leave the room.

Tifa had completely caught him off-guard with that baby comment. He really thought they had an understanding. Why weren't they on the same page? She'd never even mentioned wanting a baby before. He burned a trail on their bedroom carpet, pacing furiously. It had to be an emotional blip, right? She was spending time with little Lonnie, feeling all warm and lovey toward the baby, and it just slipped out. She would come to her senses in the morning, and they'd laugh about how emotional she'd been, and they would agree that no one wanted to see any spawn of his running around.

It was just like that time she'd slipped and said she wanted to get married. She was in the grips of an emotional dream. It wasn't really what she wanted. She'd told him to forget about it. He had been tense around her for weeks, waiting for it to come up in the sane light of day, but it never did. Eventually, he did forget about it.

As if to mock him, the light glinted off the golden ring on his finger. Okay, yes, they did eventually get married, but it was only to appease their friends. Barret had scared him into it, and Tifa only agreed because it seemed like something they were supposed to do. His proposal, if it could be called that, was a travesty. That night was something he would never forget.

_Cloud sat at a table on one side of the bar, angrily drinking and watching her every move. All he wanted to do was sit there and sulk in peace; the large man who plopped down on the other side of the booth, shaking it with his bulk, his gun arm bumping loudly against the table, was not welcome._

_"Go away," Cloud growled._

_But, as always, Barret couldn't care less whether Cloud wanted him there. He propped his elbows on the table, watching Cloud watching Tifa._

_"Hoo-ey!" Barret declared. "That musta been one hell of a spat!"_

_"No idea what you're talking about," Cloud muttered. The blue glow from his eyes followed her as she brought a drink to the man at the other side of the room. She'd been spending an awful lot of time at that table. His eyes narrowed as she placed a hand on his shoulder, and the echo of her laughter bounced off the walls. Why wasn't she leaving?! Surely that was enough time for him to pay for his drink._

_"Right," Barret laughed. "I've known you two long enough to know what a lovers' spat looks like."_

_"Shut up," Cloud snapped._

_Barret was right, of course. They had argued about something, and although Cloud clearly remembered this night, three years later, he had no idea what the argument had been about. All he knew was that Tifa was still talking to that man, and she was pushing her hair behind her ear and leaning over his table, and Cloud had just about had enough._

_"Why you so insecure about her talking to some other guy?" Barret prodded._

_Cloud finally pulled away his gaze to glare at the man across the table. "Mind your own business, Barret. You have no idea what you're talking about." He looked back across the room to find Tifa leaning down in front of the man, her face level with his. He was leaning closer. She was going to kiss him! Right in the middle of the bar, in front of everyone, in front of Cloud, Tifa was going to kiss some other guy!_

_Cloud slammed his hand on the table and stood up, only to be pushed back down by a hard hand on his shoulder. "Get out of my way, Barret," he growled, pushing him away, but Barret persisted._

_"Don't make an ass outta yo'self, Spike. She's a bartender, cleanin' up a spill."_

_Cloud looked again. The man seemed to be apologizing profusely, taking advantage of the eyeful of Tifa as she cleaned up the drink he'd knocked over. Cloud stopped fighting Barret and slumped into his seat. "Damn. I'm just sick of watching them look at her like that."_

_Barret patted his shoulder and sat back down, chuckling quietly._

_"What's so funny?" Cloud grouched._

_Barret leaned back, stretching his arms across the back of the bench seat. "You know Teef's like a sister to me, right? I had to watch that shit e'ry night, and I jus' had to get over it. It ain't her fault assholes react to her like that. Shit, I had to stop myself from gouging yo eyes outta yo head when you first showed up."_

_Cloud blinked, his attention coming back to Barret. "Me? Why?"_

_Barret snorted. "You think I didn't see you eyin' her ass e'ry time she walked by? Or getting distracted by that tight shirt when she threw a punch? You lucky yo ass didn't end up monster chow, the way you stared at her. And look, she don't even dress like that no more. She still got that effect on 'em."_

_Cloud had to concede that point. Tifa was hot. She had always been hot, and it was true that Cloud was always a little more battered when Tifa was in his party, and not because she lacked skill. "Fine, but she wasn't taken then. She is now, and he needs to put his eyes back into his skull before I do it for him," he growled, crossing his arms._

_"How's he gonna know that?" Barret retorted. "You didn't put no claim on her."_

_"The hell I didn't!" he said hotly. "We've been together for ten years!"_

_"Yeah? And what's she got to show for it? She s'posed to wear a shirt that says 'Property of spiky-ass Strife?'"_

_Cloud wanted to think of a clever comeback for that, but he came up empty. "What are you doing here, Barret?" he asked instead._

_"Visitin' Marlene," he said, glaring at Cloud. "She's still my kid, y'know."_

_Cloud sighed. He had no desire to get into it with Barret, especially over his daughter, which was a bright red flashing button that he never, ever wanted to touch. "I mean here. At my table. Pissing me off more than I'm already pissed off."_

_"Tryin' to help you," Barret sighed, clearly starting to regret his charitable action. "Look, Tifa's been patient with you. Really, really patient, considering the way you screwed her over back in—"_

_"I know, I know," Cloud interrupted. It wasn't irritation at Barret this time. He sincerely felt guilty that he'd run out on them, and he really didn't need to be reminded of it by her self-appointed big brother when he was already in a black mood._

_Barret pressed his lips together. "Fine. All's I'm sayin' is, she's a good woman who's stuck by your side when most woulda run off like they hair was on fire. You can't even promise that you gonna stick with her, when we all know she'd follow you anywhere."_

_"I promise her all the time!" Cloud said, throwing his hands up in the air. "She doesn't trust me."_

_"For good reason," Barret said pointedly._

_Cloud frowned, but couldn't argue. "I don't know what else I can do to make her believe me."_

_Barret sighed. "Damn you thick, boy." He tugged at a golden chain on his neck. It wasn't new. He had always worn it, as long as Cloud could remember, but as he pulled it out from under his shirt, Cloud saw something new. There was a ring attached to the end – a dainty golden ring, far too small for that man's meaty fingers. It matched the golden band he wore on his left hand. Barret lifted it to his lips and kissed it, then dropped it back under his shirt again. "I never take this off, because I ain't never movin' on from my Myrna. You never get a second chance at love like that. It means somethin', ya see? It means it's more than jus' for now."_

_Cloud snorted and crossed his arms. "Tifa doesn't care about that stuff. She knows it's just a piece of paper. I don't need to piss on my mate to mark her."_

_Barret leaned back, unruffled. "Those yo' thoughts, or hers?"_

_While Cloud sputtered over that, Barret pointed over at the man, who was sipping a new drink and watching Tifa as she flitted around the bar. "And if you had pissed on her, maybe you wouldn't hafta deal with guys like that."_

_Barret got to his feet and lumbered away, waiting until he neared the bar to holler, "Yo, Teef! What's on the menu?"_

_Cloud scowled at his drink. What did Barret know? Well, obviously Barret knew Tifa, but he didn't know her as well as Cloud did. She would have said something if marriage was something she really wanted. Even if she didn't come right out and say it, Tifa would test the waters, try to see where Cloud stood with it._

Like the time she woke up from that dream?

_The memory came out of nowhere. 'Marry me,' she had blurted in the dead of the night, her eyes wide and fearful._

_Is that what she had been doing then, testing the waters? But that was years ago, and she had just woken up, crying from her dream. She was just looking for comfort. That's all it was._

_But as he watched her bustling around the bar, smiling at the patrons, delivering a pick-me-up as much as hot meal or cold drink, he couldn't help thinking about who Tifa really was. What if she thought he didn't want it? His reaction to her midnight plea made his thoughts on it clear enough. He scowled to himself. 'Damn it, Tifa. Why can't you just say what you really think?'_

_Cloud stood up and marched behind the bar, fueled by liquid courage. He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her to him. "Tifa. We need to talk."_

_The dark liquid she was in the middle of pouring sloshed onto the bar, but her reactions were quick, and only a bit was spilled. The smile she'd been sharing with her customers faded when her eyes met his. She slammed the bottle on the bar and shoved his hands away. "I'm working, Cloud," she snapped, giving him one hard look before turning back to the old man at the bar with a smile. "Sorry about that, Charlie."_

_"That's alright, dear," the old man said, smiling serenely, his eyes flickering quickly to the side to get a glimpse of the man who acted like he owned her._

_Cloud looked at the old man, and at Tifa, who was pointedly ignoring him. Gods, he'd had too much to drink. He'd forgotten that they'd been fighting, and she was probably still angry over that. He sighed. "Tifa, please, it's important," he said, careful not to touch her this time._

_Her mouth tightened, but she still refused to look at him. "Fine. Go wait in the kitchen. I will come talk to you when I take my break."_

_Cloud steadied himself with a hand on the bar, studying her angry profile. There were things that needed to be said before he could talk to her about the future. "Okay," he said softly, slipping carefully past her to get to the kitchen door. He walked into the kitchen, still messy from the dinner rush, sat down at the little table, and rested his head on his arms. The loud sounds of the bar were muted back there. He felt like a naughty child, sent to sit in the corner to think about what he did. So naturally, he thought about what he had done. _

_Now that the anger was gone, he was able to see their fight more objectively. And, objectively speaking, he had been an asshole. She wasn't right about everything, either, and maybe she could have said some things a little more nicely, but did it matter? It was a silly argument that, when it came right down to it, was about nothing important._

_Cloud groaned and sat up. Self-reflection really sucked. So, she was rightfully pissed at him. It probably wasn't the best time to ask her about their future as a couple. He glanced over at the stacks of dirty dishes and splattered appliances. It would take Tifa several hours after closing to get that all cleaned up, meaning it would be very late when she came to bed. It wouldn't be a good time to talk then, either._

_He sighed and dropped his head back down on the table. The room spun slightly. He felt like he needed to be able to think this through, but he was drunk, and thoughts were hard. He felt himself drifting, and he let himself go with the pleasant sensation. He dreamt of Tifa – nice dreams, where she had a gleaming ring on her finger, and every time some other guy looked at her, they were blinded by the shine of the ring and looked away._

_A loud slamming sound brought him back with a jerk, and long-ingrained reflexes brought him instantly to his feet, reaching for a sword that wasn't there._

_"Well? What do you want?" Tifa demanded._

_Cloud squinted behind her at the door swinging wildly on its hinges. She had smacked it open so hard that it had banged against the wall. "Tifa?"_

_"I don't have long, so spit it out," she said shortly._

_He blinked and shook his head to clear it, and he remembered. They had fought. She was angry. She eyed him warily as he closed the distance between them, but he stopped in front of her and took her hands in his. "I'm an asshole," he said sincerely._

_The angry little dimple between her brows eased. "What?"_

_"Tifa…I hate when we fight. It was stupid, and I was wrong, and I'm sorry."_

_Tifa didn't seem to know what to say. It wasn't like him to figure that out on his own. "I…uh…"_

_He released her hands and held open his arms, offering instead of taking. "I'm sorry," he said again, looking at her with those puppy dog eyes, ocean blue and just as deep. She came closer, allowing herself to be enfolded in his familiar arms. He leaned the side of his head against hers. "It was stupid. I was stupid. Forgive me?"_

_He felt her body soften and relax in his embrace. "I'm sorry, too. Let's not fight anymore, ok?"_

_"Never again," he whispered, lowering his head to kiss her. She responded, as she always did, to his touch, but she pulled away before things could get too heated._

_"I...have to get back," she said, looking abashed._

_"Tifa, wait," Cloud said suddenly. "Let's get married."_

_Her first reaction was a startled laugh, then her eyes widened, and then they narrowed again as she shook her head. "You're drunk."_

_"Yeah," he acknowledged. He wasn't seeing the problem here. He was probably more open and honest when he was drunk than any other time._

_"You can't…ask someone like that. Not when you're drunk."_

_His brow furrowed. "Why not?"_

_"Because it's…it's an important life decision." She looked at him sadly, and he had no idea what she might be thinking. "We'll talk again when you're sober," she said. She gave him a little smile and backed out through the door._

_Cloud looked up at the clock. The bar would be closing in three hours. He would probably be sober by then. Then they would talk. He felt a sense of urgency to discuss it, as if someone were waiting in the shadows to take her away if he didn't claim her immediately. Then the dirty dishes caught his attention, and he frowned. Well, he would definitely be sober in five hours. 'But…what if…' His brain was trying to form some kind of sober thought, but he couldn't quite grasp it. He chased it around until it suddenly became crystal clear. His face lit up. He was going to need water. Lots and lots of water._

_Three hours later, Tifa came through the kitchen door, looking much wearier than she had at her last break. Or perhaps it was just that the gallon or two of water he had drank (and subsequently peed out, several times) had diluted the alcohol enough for him to see clearly. She gave him a weary smile, and then plodded over to the sink. She was moving on autopilot, and it wasn't until she stood right in front of the sink that she noticed anything different._

_All of the dishes had been washed. The stove sparkled, even the dark, burned parts that she could never seem to get clean. The fridge was spotless. The counters gleamed. The floor was immaculate. She revolved slowly on the spot, taking in all the work that she no longer had to do. "Cloud, did you—?"_

_He smiled and shrugged. "I didn't want to wait," he said, and she looked at him in confusion. "To talk," he clarified._

_Her eyes widened. "Oh. Right. Okay. Let's talk. I'm all yours."_

_'All mine? Does she really mean that?'_

_They returned to the little kitchen table and sat down. He met her eyes, desperately wondering what she was thinking. "I want…" No, that wasn't the right way to start. Wasn't he supposed to have a ring or something? His brow furrowed. Maybe he should have thought this through a little better._

_"Cloud?" Tifa prompted._

_"Let's go for a walk," he blurted._

_"Now? It's…the middle of the night. The kids are sleeping."_

_"Barret's here, remember?" Cloud said, waving away her protests. He didn't understand how she could have forgotten, considering that he could hear Barret's snoring from the farthest bedroom. Tifa frowned, but allowed herself to be led out the back door. Cloud locked it behind them, knowing she would have already locked the front. Tifa's routine was as predictable as the sunrise._

_They started down the winding sidewalk that led to the alley, and Tifa rubbed her arms absently. "Are you cold?" Cloud asked, stopping abruptly. "We can grab a coat."_

_"It's fine," Tifa said, dropping her hands to her side. "We won't be gone long anyway, right?"_

_"R-right," Cloud said, beginning to walk again. He glanced over at her. Should he take her hand? He didn't usually when they walked together, but this was different. Maybe he should try to get her in a romantic mood first. It was a romantic evening, right? He glanced up at the sky. It was cloudy, only a few stars visible through the murky cover. He glanced down at his boots as they entered the grass, feeling the heavy dew seeping through the holes he had never gotten around to fixing. He looked over at Tifa again. Her thin canvas shoes were soaked, and she had her arms crossed, huddling for warmth. Maybe this wasn't the best time. Maybe he should plan this better, try to do something nice. But Barret had gotten in his head, and again he felt that sense of urgency, like if he waited any longer, she might suddenly realize what a loser he was and get away before it was too late._

_He pulled in a deep breath. "We should get married."_

_Her reaction was not exactly awe inspiring, although he supposed his delivery wasn't, either. They continued walking. She chewed her bottom lip and looked over at him. "Cloud…"_

_"I'm sober," he said earnestly._

_Her smile flickered for a quick moment. "I know. I can tell," she said with a wry look. "I'm just wondering…why?"_

_"What? What kind of question is that?" he asked, feeling a little insulted. She should know why._

_"I mean, why now," Tifa said, tucking her hands under her arms, searching for a spot of warmth for her frozen fingers._

_Cloud hesitated. "Does it matter?" he asked. "Do you…not want to get married?"_

_"No, I…I do," she said, "but…"_

_"But…?"_

_"It's just really sudden," she blurted. "We have this horrible fight, then you manhandle me in the middle of the bar—"_

_"I wouldn't call it manhandling," he muttered._

_"—And then you come out apologizing and suddenly want to get married, when you haven't said a word about it for ten years!" Tifa's voice grew louder as she grew more agitated. "I don't know what that means, Cloud! Are you going to leave? Are you going to die? There must be some reason for you to–"_

_Cloud stopped walking and gripped her upper arms to calm her, but he was distracted by just how cold they felt. He really didn't remember how it felt to be normal, but surely it wasn't comfortable to be this cold. Pulling her into his arms was more of an instinct than a planned move, but she huddled gratefully in his warmth._

_"I'm not going anywhere," he said finally as she calmed. "I've always known you weren't going anywhere, but you should be able to say that, too. If this will convince you, then I want to do it."_

_Her chuckle was muffled against his chest. "You want to get married to soothe my insecurities?"_

_He pulled back slightly so he could look her in the eyes. "I want you to be happy, Tifa. As secure and happy as I am. That's all."_

_Tifa stared into his eyes for a long time. He wished she would say something, or give some indication of what she was thinking. He was just about to suggest that they go back home, when she said softly, "Okay."_

_He blinked a few times before it registered. "Okay? Does that…does that mean yes?"_

_Her eyes filled with tears, and she nodded. "Yes. I will. We should. Let's do it." She laughed awkwardly, sniffling._

_His smile broadened to match hers, but quickly faded. "I didn't…there's no ring…or anything. Should I have one by now? I'm supposed to, aren't I?"_

_Tifa laughed again, pulling her hands away from the welcome heat of his body, but still within the protective circle of his arms. "You gave it to me a long time ago," she said, holding up her right hand. The wolf ring he had given her years ago was still there, tarnished and faded, but still doing its job, keeping watch over her when he couldn't. She tugged it off and slid it onto her left hand. "There," she said, showing it to him. "It's official."_

_Cloud smiled with relief this time. Was that it? Was there anything else he was supposed to do, or say? Why didn't someone write a book on how a guy was supposed to do this? All women seemed to know these things, like they had a secret society of woman-only information that they passed along in whispers and giggles, and men could only pick up tiny slivers. Tifa rescued him from his spiraling thoughts. "Can we go back now?" she asked, sniffling her reddened nose. "It's freezing out here."_

So that was how he had proposed to her – with her feet like blocks of ice and clinging to him for heat rather than affection. It wasn't his finest moment. In the end, they had gotten married in a very simple ceremony, with only their closest friends attending. Tifa was never one for big gestures or lavish parties herself, but she had taken obvious care to keep it low key, knowing how uncomfortable it would have made Cloud. It was so very _Tifa_ to be thinking about his comfort instead of her own happiness.

Was this the same? Maybe she really wanted a baby. Maybe she always had, but she never brought it up because she knew how he felt about it, and he only knew her true feelings because he had caught her in an emotionally raw moment. He scowled and shook his head. No matter her reasons or her true feelings, it was not the same, because there was absolutely no way he would ever allow it. He would do almost anything to make her happy; anything but this.

He couldn't allow a thing like that to exist ever again.


	3. Accidents Happen

**Chapter 3: Accidents Happen**

The café was adorable. The walls were covered in little fortune cookie platitudes in a multitude of different languages, several of which Tifa recognized, and several that she was pretty sure weren't even real. The floor was populated with tiny little two-person tables, each with exactly two chairs. When she had asked if she could move the chairs at the next table over, the proprietor had looked at her as if she'd said something offensive that couldn't be dignified with a response. Yuffie didn't bother asking. She just shoved over the cute little table and chairs with a loud scrape, then settled the stroller in their place.

Normally, Tifa would have appreciated the attention to detail and the ambiance the owner had so lovingly created, but right then she only had eyes for the little girl in the stroller. She cooed and googled to the baby, tickling under her chin with her finger, only satisfied once she had triggered Lonnie's gleeful laughter. Her companion sighed loudly. "Gods, Teef, are you ever going to talk to _me _again, or should I come back when she's two?"

Tifa pulled her hand back and looked across the little table at her best friend. "Sorry, Yuffie," she said immediately. "You know I get a little lost when Lonnie's talking to me."

Yuffie waved away her apology and broke a dainty little cookie over the tablecloth, completely missing the plate with the shower of crumbs. "It's ok. You'll get used to coming second once you have one of your own," she said, shoving half of the cookie in her mouth. If she was aware of the death glare she was getting from the portly lady behind the register, she didn't care. Actually, knowing Yuffie, it was more likely that she was well aware and really enjoying finding the woman's triggers.

"Maybe you shouldn't—" Tifa started, but Yuffie spoke again, spraying the table with more crumbs.

"When _are _you going to have one of your own?"

Tifa deflated like a balloon that had lost its helium. She slumped onto her elbows on the table. "Maybe never. Cloud…doesn't want one."

"So what?" Yuffie said airily. "It's your body that has to carry it."

Tifa gave her an exasperated look. "But he would still have to parent the kid. Besides, I kind of need his…contribution…" Her face pinked slightly.

"You mean to tell me you guys aren't having sex anymore?" Yuffie asked, far too loudly for Tifa's taste. "Past the bunny-rabbit honeymoon phase finally?"

Tifa ducked her head. "Jeez, Yuf, do you have to announce it to the whole shop?" She cast furtive glances to both sides, relieved that the few other patrons didn't seem to be interested in their conversation. "Anyway, that's not what I'm saying. We are. But he'll never agree to it. You should've seen his face last night. He was pissed that I even brought it up!"

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Look, all men want babies. It's a natural instinct to want to reproduce. It's just these overdeveloped brains that have to think about stuff logically. But trust me, Teef, once he sees those ten little fingers and ten little toes, he'll be in love."

Tifa sighed. "Except he's never going to see ten little fingers and ten little toes, because we'll never get that far."

Yuffie sighed and rubbed her face. "Ok, listen, Teef. I'm going to let you in on a little secret that has been helping women achieve their goals for hundreds of years." She leaned forward, finally lowering her voice. "Accidents happen." When Tifa showed no sign of understanding, Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Fine, let me spell it out for you. Step one: get one of your sewing needles. Step two: find his condom stash. Step three: poke the needle through the wrapper a bunch of times." She grinned triumphantly. "He won't even notice! Even Cloudy's gotta be a little distracted in the heat of the moment, right? I mean, mako vision or not, does he even really look at it when he's hard and ready?"

Tifa's face felt hot. They were getting a little too close to discussing the actual deed. "Yuffie! Can we not talk about this here?"

"I don't know why you're so embarrassed about this. Everybody does it. Even animals. Even the wrinkly old bag behind the register!"

Tifa glanced at the woman behind the register, who was still watching them with a side-eye. "Ok, fine, but can you at least lower your voice? I don't need everyone to know about my problems."

"What problem?" Yuffie scoffed, but at least she had turned down the volume. "I've just told you how to solve your problem."

"Ok, well, whatever. It really doesn't matter, because we don't use them."

"You don't…" Yuffie sat up straight. "Birth control? You mean you use birth control?"

Tifa winced. "Yes, would you please keep it down?"

"But that's even easier!" Yuffie cried. "I can't believe I even have to tell you this. Just. Stop. Taking. Them."

"That's not…" Tifa sighed. "Yuffie, that's not how mature relationships work."

She shrugged. "What? Manipulation? Trickery? We'll have to agree to disagree."

"You mean to tell me that you had all those kids without Maury agreeing to it?"

"Gawd, no. I had to use it _way _before that."

Tifa raised her eyebrows, intrigued, but not terribly surprised by anything Yuffie did anymore.

Yuffie swirled the tea around in her cup, creating a whirlpool of dark liquid and tea leaves. "Maury was terrified of my father, and, well, you know Godo. No one was good enough for his little princess except some stuffed-shirt royalty. I swear Maury was all set to marry me. Why else would he insist on meeting my father?" Tifa could think of several alternate reasons, but kept her opinion to herself.

"Well, I'm sure you can guess how that turned out. I tried to tell Maury that's just the way Daddy is. Kicking the crap out of someone is his way of showing affection! But Maury wouldn't buy it. He wanted to break it off." She crumbled the remainder of her cookie in her fist. Her plate caught a few, but most of the crumbs fell around the outside.

"So, surprise! Yuffie's pregnant." She laughed wickedly. "Of course an unwed, knocked-up princess is even more of a dishonor than marrying a commoner. That's the key, see? I made him choose between what I wanted and something that made him look even worse!" She sat up taller and imitated Godo's booming voice. "Why must you always bring shame on this family name?" She shrugged and took a sip of her tea, returning to her normal voice. "After I dropped the bomb, Daddy practically forced Maury to marry me. I'm pretty sure he convinced the whole town that Maury was the prince of some tiny, obscure country."

Tifa stared at her best friend. Now that she thought about it, the wedding did seem very rushed. "Are you telling me that you…you _tricked _Maury into marrying you?"

Yuffie shrugged. "What's the big deal? It all worked out in the end, right? I knew he was the one. Fate just needed a little nudge."

Tifa sat back, re-evaluating everything she thought she knew about her closest friends. "But…but Jacky wasn't born until you'd been married for…" She redid the math in her head, just to make sure. "…over a year!"

"Yeah, well. Sometimes, babies don't make it," Yuffie said blithely.

Tifa sucked in a sharp breath. "Oh, Yuffie. I didn't know. I'm so sorry."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "It wasn't a _real _baby, you dork. Maury's little guys must not be very good swimmers, because I poked a _lot _of holes."

"You…lied about being pregnant, too?"

"Well I mean it's obviously not _ideal_. Ideally you'd want to be _actually _pregnant before you tell him, just in case it doesn't work out, but…" Yuffie shrugged. "Fate forced my hand."

"Yuffie that's…" Tifa shook her head. "I can't even…"

Yuffie's eyes flashed. "Judge me all you want, Tifa. No one's ever dictated your life…what you wear…where you go…when you sleep…who you can see. You have no idea what it's like." Her haughty expression dropped, and she crossed her arms over her chest protectively. "Why do you think a sixteen-year-old would run off with a group of strangers who wandered into her forest?"

Tifa softened. Sometimes she forgot there was a vulnerable young woman underneath all the posturing. "Well, personally, I just thought you were a bratty kid trying to get back at her dad," she said, smiling gently.

Yuffie laughed, her sassy shield back in place. "Well, yeah, of course. The point is, I've figured out how to deal with stubborn men. If you can't win face-to-face, sometimes you've gotta do a sneak attack from the side."

"Are you ladies done?" The old woman from the register hovered over their table. "I need this table."

"Oh, um, I guess so," Tifa said, looking around at the nearly empty shop.

Yuffie looked up, the fire back in her eyes. "We'll leave when we're good and ready, lady," she snapped, then looked over at Tifa, who already had her money out.

Tifa smiled apologetically. "I really need to get home anyway," she said.

Yuffie sighed, pulling a large bill from her purse and shoving it toward the woman. "Don't be stupid, Teef," she said. "It's my treat."

It was really the only way she knew how to be nice, and Tifa didn't take offense. Yuffie glared back up at the woman. "We're only leaving because we _want _to." As she stood up with a huff and worked the stroller out of its tight space, knocking several tables and chairs askew, Tifa dropped a few more gil on the table and smiled at the woman apologetically. Yuffie was a great friend, but she didn't give a damn what people thought of her. She had a tendency to chafe the uninitiated.

Tifa joined her outside the shop, where the warmth of the early afternoon sun soothed her chilled skin. Yuffie stretched her arms over her head and yawned widely. "Well, I suppose I should get home, too. Maury's probably had enough poon-tang to last him a while, but I don't really trust him alone with the nanny."

Tifa chuckled. Yuffie's nanny, Nessa, was a formidable old nurse who had spent her younger years chasing the rambunctious princess herself. She'd never managed to tame the wild girl, but she was the closest thing to a mother Yuffie knew, and despite the ninja's constant jabs at the old woman, she was the only one Yuffie would trust with her children.

"So, you gonna do it? Take charge of your own destiny? Be master of your domain? Show Cloud who wears the pants in that place?"

Tifa rolled her eyes sideways to look at her friend. "You know, I think I'll try talking to him first. I fell asleep between the E-boys last night, and he was gone when I woke up this morning, but he can't avoid me forever."

"All right, well, good luck with that. But when he shuts you down, just remember what I said – sneak attack. You'll thank me later."

Tifa wasn't even listening anymore. She was having an animated conversation with Lonnie in the stroller, sneaking one last kiss before heading off in the direction of Seventh Heaven.

"Uh…bye!" Yuffie called after her. Tifa didn't seem to hear her. Yuffie huffed and turned the stroller in the opposite direction. "Come on, ya little friend stealer. You know your days are numbered now, right? As soon as she pops out a little spiky-headed angel, you won't be the cutest thing in the room anymore. Then you'll know what it feels like to be second best."

Lonnie burbled and gleefully shoved a foot in her mouth.


	4. Master of My Domain

**A/N:** We're earning the M rating here. You've been warned.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Master of My Domain**

The sizzle of the frying pan was soothing to Tifa. It was so satisfying, each time she dumped a new chopped vegetable in, the predictable increase in noise, then slowly dying down as the water evaporated. She really needed it at the moment, too. She had been thinking hard about what she would say to Cloud when he returned, and now was just worrying about how he would respond. He was _so angry_ the night before. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to bring it up so soon. Maybe she should wait for the right moment.

Her heart jumped when the door opened behind her. She didn't turn around, however. She continued chopping the vegetables, trying to pretend that she wasn't listening for his movement.

"Hey."

That was all he said, soft and quiet, and Tifa set down her knife before turning around. Cloud was leaning against the wall of the kitchen, looking pensive. "Hi," she said with a slight smile. "You're home early."

"A little," he nodded. "We broke our rule last night. It's been bothering me."

"Which rule would that be?"

"We went to bed angry. You fell asleep with the boys and I just…well, anyway. We should talk. I shouldn't have been so…abrupt last night."

Tifa's smile widened. "So you're willing to talk about it?"

Cloud frowned. "We can talk about it all you want. But it's not going to change my answer."

She came closer, clasping her hands in front of her apron. "Just tell me what you're so afraid of, Cloud. Whatever it is, we can figure it out. We can work through it."

He sighed. "We can't. But I'll tell you what I know."

Tifa bit her lip, and then nodded. She would hear him out like she'd promised. Then it would be her turn. "I need to finish dinner, though. Denzel has some observational thing in a few hours."

Cloud followed her back toward the stove, pulling out a stool by the island. He sat down with a weary sigh and rested his arms on the island counter. Tifa could swear he was more tired after a day at the office than he ever had been when he was on the road all the time. She gave him an encouraging smile and went back to her chopping. "Ok. I'm listening. Tell me what's bothering you."

"It's not _bothering _me, Tifa. I'm fine with it. I've always known I couldn't have a kid. I guess I just didn't realize you wanted one. We had Marlene. We had Denzel. I thought that was enough."

Tifa's chopping slowed. "You're not even willing to try, though? I was thinking about that new medical center that's going up, and—"

"I thought you were going to listen," Cloud said, frustrated. Tifa closed her mouth. "You want to know why we can't have a baby? Here it is. The S-cells in my body are…well, dominant. They're much more aggressive than the human cells…mine _or_ yours. So, any baby we have would likely be about ninety percent Sephiroth."

For a minute, the kitchen was dominated by the sounds of sizzling and chopping. "So…do you understand now?" Cloud finally prompted.

"Am I allowed to talk?" Tifa asked, only slightly sharply.

"Please."

Tifa scraped the newest batch of chopped vegetables into the pan before turning around to face him. "Ok, you said 'likely' and 'about'. That sounds like a lot of guesswork to me."

"Does it matter?" Cloud asked, crossing his arms. "Do you really want to take that chance? He almost destroyed the entire planet!"

"And," Tifa continued, "So what if he or she is…a lot like Sephiroth? He was really strong and powerful and everything, but he wasn't _born _evil, right? He just went a little crazy—"

"A little?"

"—but who wouldn't if they were raised by a mad scientist and then got the shock he had?"

"I've been shocked," Cloud said stiffly. "I never had the urge to destroy an entire race."

Tifa sighed and leaned across the island, pulling his arms away from his chest and taking his hands in her own. "But you also had a mother who loved you very much, who raised you and taught you how to be a human being. He didn't have that. If he did…well, I think he would have been ok."

He let her hold his hands for a long time. She held her breath, watching the gears turning behind his eyes, waiting for some kind of reaction. He released one hand, raising it to her face, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Tifa...are you…unhappy?"

Tifa pulled back and stood up straight. "What? No, I…no! Why would you think that?"

"My job is boring. I miss being on the road, and I miss fighting. But I like _this_. I like coming home to you every night. I like having food that wasn't burned over a fire. I like not worrying about whether we can afford to eat next week or next month, or whether someone I care about is going to be killed at any minute." He stood up and walked around to the other side of the island, cupping her face in his hands. "I'm happy the way things are, Teef. Can't you just…be happy with me?"

She sighed and settled her hands on his waist. "I am. Really. I just think—"

The pounding of feet on stairs drew both of their gazes as Denzel appeared in the kitchen, wearing a sleeveless shirt and baggy jeans. "Hey, are we eating soon?" Denzel asked, scratching one bare arm. "Or are you guys…doing something else?" he teased, raising an eyebrow at the two of them.

Tifa immediately went back into business mode, taking a step away from Cloud and turning to the stove to finish her cooking. "Yes. It's almost ready," she said, her cheeks burning. It wasn't like they'd been doing anything inappropriate, and like Cloud had said, Denzel wasn't a child anymore, but they had hidden the nature of their relationship from the kids when they were young and asked too many questions, and old habits die hard.

"Good," Denzel said, a smile quirking his lips as he pulled down some plates from a cupboard. "I'm starving."

Cloud took the plates from him and began setting the table. "Are you still studying up there?"

"Yeah," Denzel sighed, pushing wavy hair out of his face. "I'm going to be observing Dr. Anton doing surgery tonight. I want to make sure I can at least identify body parts. He likes to quiz me while he's working."

"He's doing it _tonight_?" Cloud asked, digging loudly in the silverware drawer.

"Mhm. He's a night owl. He always says he'll probably cut into the wrong person if he tries to do something during the day."

Tifa chuckled. Dr. Anton was known to be a bit of an eccentric, but he was a brilliant doctor. Denzel had been training under him for the last few years, and she had it on good authority that Dr. Anton was quite impressed with him. Denzel was a quick learner and a hard worker, and it seemed that his early years of suffering had made him especially empathetic to the pain of others.

"What kind of surgery is it?" Tifa asked as she stirred the pans on the stove.

"Heart," Denzel said. "Mr. Collins is getting a double-bypass."

"Sounds interesting," Tifa commented.

"Eh, it's ok," Denzel shrugged. "But Mrs. Catterwald is due in a couple of weeks, and Dr. Anton says I can even assist in that one."

Tifa looked up. "You're going to be delivering a baby?"

"Well, helping," he said. "Mostly handing him tools and stuff. But it's really cool, you know. I've been there all through her prenatal care, and now I get to see the end result of all that. It's like, suddenly this one person I've been caring for becomes two people, and it's…I don't know…magical, I guess."

"I would hope you know the difference between magic and biology after all this time," Cloud said, now reclining at the table.

Denzel laughed. "You'd think so. Mr. Collins might be in trouble tonight." He looked over at Tifa, who seemed a little unfocused, absently stirring the gravy. "You need any help, Tifa?"

"What? Oh. Sure, yeah. Can you find a bowl and bring this over to the table for me? I'll…be right back."

Without waiting for a response, Tifa wandered down the hall and closed herself in the bathroom. It was scattered with accessories they had used when the kids stayed over. She picked up a bottle of Lonnie's baby powder and inhaled the soothing scent, her heart aching. At least Cloud was talking about it, but when he had that stubborn look in his eyes, it didn't make much difference. He wasn't going to be convinced.

Tifa sighed and tightened the top on the baby powder before stashing it in the cabinet. She supposed she would have to get her fix from Yuffie's kids for now. She washed her hands and went to eat with the family she had.

* * *

It wasn't intentional. That's what she told herself.

Tifa had been distracted all day, thinking about how to broach the subject with Cloud, and when her alarm went off, she had been in the middle of cooking. She truly had intended to go take it as soon as she was done chopping the onions, but then Cloud came home and she just forgot. As soon as Denzel left, they took advantage of having the house to themselves for an hour before she had to open the bar. So she really hadn't had a chance to think about it.

The night before, her alarm had gone off while Yuffie was dropping off the kids. Obviously, she was too busy to remember that night. Cloud couldn't really blame her for that, right? Tifa popped out the Saturday pill and swallowed it. The Thursday and Friday pills glared up at her accusingly as she tucked the pack back into her drawer.

She was extremely vigilant for the rest of the month. She took every pill at exactly five o'clock. She didn't want an unexpected baby, especially when Cloud wasn't on board with it yet. He would be, soon, she assured herself. As soon as she figured out the right time and the right words to convince him, they would be headed for blissful parent-dom. But in the meantime, she had to be careful. Two missed pills didn't mean anything, and besides, Cloud was pretty sure he was infertile. It was unlikely that anything would come of it, which was exactly what she wanted.

So why did she feel such crushing disappointment when her period came?

They went back to their day-to-day routine, and she grew a little more lax with her pills every day. It wasn't like she was _trying _to skip them, but sometimes she was busy when the alarm went off, and it probably wouldn't happen, anyway. Month after month, her period came like clockwork. She still hadn't found the right time to bring it up with Cloud again, but she thought about it all the time.

While Tifa checked apples for bruising and ripeness, she thought of all the reasons they should try. As she served beer and chatted with her customers, she imagined what would actually convince him. When he took her out on Fenrir for a drive through the autumn leaves, she imagined what he would look like with a little spiky-headed mini-Cloud riding in front.

They slowed to a stop in the middle of the woods, and Cloud cut the engine. Tifa rested her chin on his shoulder and tightened her arms around his waist. He pulled off his goggles and sighed contentedly.

"It's really beautiful out here. Might be our last nice day for a while, though."

"Oh?" Tifa purred in his ear.

"Yeah. Weather's supposed to turn cold tomorrow."

"Mm. Then we should take advantage of it," Tifa said, sliding her hands down to his zipper.

He tilted his head slightly. "Really."

"Mhm." She popped open the button and slowly dragged down the zipper.

Cloud shifted to give her better access. "Hell, I'm all for celebrating nature."

She tongued his wolf earring and slid her hand inside his boxers. He groaned softly as she began gently caressing his shaft. The sound gave her confidence, and she gripped him tighter, moved faster. His hands moved restlessly, looking for something to touch or hold, but she sat behind him, and in the end all he could do was grip the denim of his jeans.

The effort of doing nothing seemed difficult for him, but he wasn't about to stop her. Tifa's breathing grew heavier as she got more into it, and she found herself grinding her hips against him, licking and sucking on his neck.

"Fuck, Tifa," he groaned, and the way he said her name spurred her on further. She brought her other hand up to stroke the head, spreading the bead of moisture she found there with her thumb. He tipped his head back and she braced her feet against the foot pegs, lifting herself up higher to get a better angle.

He was still holding up the bike, which seemed to be getting considerably more difficult as his legs tried to move. "Tifa. Tifa, Tifa, wait," he panted. She ignored him, pumping harder and taking the bottom of his ear in her mouth. He released his grip on his jeans and grasped her wrist, stopping her movement. "Oh, Gods, Teef. Just wait a second."

He stood up, nudged down the kickstand with his boot, and shimmied his pants down to his thighs. Then, twisting around, he picked her up and moved her in front of him on the seat, facing him, scooting back to make room as he did so. Her legs crossed over his like a spider on a swing, and she reached for him impatiently.

"Nuh uh," he said, catching her hand. "You need to catch up."

She had debated whether it was too cold to wear a skirt before they'd left, but now she was glad she had, or her pants would have been soaked. His long, talented fingers stroked the crotch of her underwear, and he grinned.

"Maybe you don't," he said, pushing the damp material to the side, two fingers sliding smoothly inside of her as he pulled her to him for a kiss. As much as she'd been enjoying playing with him, her insides ached, and she nearly convulsed with pleasure when he scratched that itch. She gripped the back of his hair with one hand while her tongue danced with his. Her other hand tried to resume stroking him, but it seemed that she had lost all coordination.

He didn't seem to mind. His breath shuddered with her clumsy strokes while his fingers continued to please her. It felt good, but it wasn't enough. The tension was building up inside of her, and his fingers weren't what she wanted. "Cloud…I need…I need…"

"Not yet," he breathed, chuckling at her frustrated whine. He pulled her closer, his mouth next to her ear, and whispered, "I want to taste you."

Gods, his voice was doing things to her. She moaned, practically wilting in his arms. He lifted her off of him and set her on the ground. Anxious to move things along, Tifa opened one of the storage compartments and pulled out the quilt they'd brought. Fuck the picnic; they had better things to do.

She laid out the quilt on a patch of ground that looked smooth enough, although it was difficult to tell with the thick layer of brightly colored leaves. Tifa lay down on top of it, crunching the leaves loudly with her weight, and spread her legs. Cloud turned around from whatever he was doing on the bike, and a grin broke across his face. "In a hurry?"

Tifa suddenly felt embarrassed. She pulled her legs together and sat up on her elbows. "I was just—"

He dropped down on his knees beside her with a loud crunch, interrupting her words with a hard, heavy kiss that took her breath away. When he pulled back, she no longer remembered what she was going to say.

"No, I like it," he said.

"It?"

"You. Being forward like this. It's really hot."

"Oh." Tifa smiled shyly, then laid back on the blanket, encouraged by his gentle nudge. It felt illicit somehow, because they were both fully clothed, even though there was no one around for miles.

He crawled backwards until he sat between her knees, then slid his hands slowly up her legs. She squirmed, her nerves suddenly remembering where they had been. He gripped her hips and hooked his fingers into the sides of her underwear. She lifted her butt so he could pull them down, but with a quick snap to the sides, he tore right through them.

Tifa sat up, her mouth falling open. "Cloud! I didn't bring any extras! How am I supposed to ride home without—ooooh." She fell back onto the blanket, the heat of his mouth and the caress of his tongue wiping any protests from her mind.

Now it was her turn to grip the blanket, with nothing to do but enjoy the ride. His hands were underneath her ass, lifting her hips off the ground, her feet planted solidly on the ground. She couldn't resist the urge to buck her hips, but he moved with her, working with her rhythm, pressing his tongue against the top every time she lowered them.

It was maddening, not being able to do anything with her hands, and she had a new appreciation for his self-restraint earlier. She could only reach his hair, but she twisted her fingers into it, tugging on the strands on top of his head. Cloud responded with a moan and increased fervor.

His eyes were closed now. He wasn't watching her. She had never tried it herself, but it felt good when he did it, so maybe... She slid her hand up underneath her shirt, pushing her bra impatiently to the side. Slender fingers moved on either side of one pert nipple and squeezed together. "Aah!" The burst of pleasure surprised her, and her fingers yanked on his hair.

Cloud looked up in surprise, grinning when he saw what she was doing. He pulled her hips closer, tight against his mouth, and drove in his tongue as deep as he could go. Her hand slapped back down on the ground beside her and curled the blanket into her fist. This time he watched her as she spiraled out of control. She arched her back, making a bridge of her body as her voice echoed off the trees.

Gradually, her fingers released his hair. He lowered her down gently until her hips stopped moving, until her limbs went slack and her breathing slowed. She didn't even realize he had moved up beside her until his mouth was on hers, and she tasted something odd on his tongue.

Her mind was still sluggish, and it took her a moment to realize she was tasting herself. She turned her head away to break the kiss, wondering why that grossed her out so much more than tasting him.

Cloud lay his head next to hers on the blanket, his fingers gently tracing over her sweaty skin. He was still entirely dressed except for his open fly, out of which his still-hard cock nudged the side of her leg gently. "Are you ready for me?" he asked softly.

She rolled her head to face him. "Do you really like me…like this?"

He sat up on one elbow and scanned her body: her skirt pushed up, panties nowhere to be seen, shirt shoved up on one side, hair tousled and splayed everywhere. "Like this? Hell yes."

She laughed. "No, I mean, me being more…forward?"

He smiled down at her. "Yeah. I really do."

"Then let's do it up there."

His eyes followed the direction of her nod. "On my bike?" He tilted his head, looking at it critically. "That might be a little…tricky..."

"All you have to do is sit there and keep it upright. Like we were before."

It took him a second before the lights clicked on. "You want to be on top?"

She nodded slowly. "If that's…ok."

Cloud blinked once, then sat up and began frantically untying his boots.

She giggled as she watched him. "In a hurry?" she asked, repeating his earlier taunt.

"Are you serious?" He didn't slow down or look up until both of his boots had been tossed unceremoniously into the leaves, followed by his socks, pants, boxers, and shirt. Then he stood, pulling her to her feet as well, and led her to the gleaming gold and black metal. He paused then, looking back at her. "How do you want me?"

She had straightened her clothes while he stripped, so she was now fully dressed other than her MIA underwear. He looked unusually vulnerable, standing there nude, waiting for her instructions. It felt strange. But this was her taking control, and she wasn't going to falter now. "Get on," she said. "Stand it up."

He swung one leg over the seat and straightened the bike.

"Sit down."

He did, making a slight face when his nether regions made contact with the cold leather. She felt a pang of unease.

"Cloud, we don't have to—"

"Keep going," he said softly.

She nodded hesitantly. "Ok…now…touch yourself."

His eyebrows shot up. "What?"

"Come on, Cloud. I know you know how."

He laughed a little bit. "Well yeah, but you're here—"

"Do it," she said firmly.

He did as she asked, but it was a half-hearted effort. Tifa bit her lip and gathered her courage. She began pulling down the zipper of her shirt, little by little, exposing her voluminous breasts. Cloud's hand suddenly became more proficient. "Fuck, Teef…what did you get into today?"

Every time she had a bout of self-doubt, he said something like that, half breathless and hoarse, and she got the little boost of confidence she needed to keep going. She traced her fingers along the curves of her breasts until she reached the edges of the shirt, and then she pushed it back over her shoulders. She saw him swallow, saw the rapid rise and fall of his chest with his breathing. Her bra was already unlatched, sitting there uselessly, but she made a big production of sliding it down over her arms, letting it drop to the ground.

He wasn't stroking himself anymore, but had braced his hands behind him on the tank. She decided that was ok. She was testing the limits of her self-control almost as much as his now. She wanted him in the worst way, and seeing him like that, exposed and leaning back, rock hard and glistening with sweat on his machine, she almost wanted to call the whole thing off and just tell him to take her.

But she didn't. She quickly pulled down the zipper of her skirt, letting it fall to the ground in a heap. To hell with the striptease. He wet his lips when she came closer, throwing one leg over the seat, facing him. The muscles of his arms, still braced on the tank behind him, twitched as he fought the urge to take matters into his own hands. "Tifa, please," he moaned.

That was her undoing. She threw herself forward, kissing him frantically, pulling her knees underneath her and sitting up on the seat. He pulled her hips closer, his cock rubbing against her belly, feeling the wetness of his desire as he kissed her just as frenetically. Her hands braced on his shoulders, and he brought one hand down to guide himself inside of her.

She felt unsteady, unsure of her direction, but he guided her hips as she sank slowly down. They both stopped there, breathing heavily; her because the positioning was awkward and she wasn't sure how she was going to lift herself up again, and him because he was too close to losing it.

But Cloud was nothing if not disciplined, and there was no way in hell he was going to let this end badly, especially when she was just beginning to explore her dominance. "Put your feet down on the footpegs," he suggested.

They were a little hard to reach, but they gave her the leverage she needed to lift herself. He slid his hands underneath her thighs and helped keep her on course; it was more difficult than she had expected. But their bodies were attuned to each other, and they quickly settled into a smooth rhythm.

Tifa leaned forward and tucked her head into his shoulder, controlling the speed with her legs, but trusting him to guide her. Sweat slicked skin glided smoothly together, and she felt a surge of warmth and love that had nothing to do with friction. They were perfect together. They should have something they made with their love.

"Cloud?" Tifa spoke in his ear as they moved in harmony.

"Hm?"

"I love you."

He chuckled softly, amused by her timing. "You—"

But then she sat up and braced her hands on his shoulders again, moving faster, and the smile faded from his lips. His head tilted back as his breathing grew harsher. He bit his lip and his face contorted, and she drove harder and faster, watching him come before her for once, while she had the presence of mind to see it. She would have liked to see it through, but she could feel him surging inside her, filling her with his seed, and it pushed her over the edge along with him.

She cried out as she let her head fall to his shoulder again. The earth was moving, tilting sideways, except…it stopped with a thump.

"Shit. Sorry," Cloud said.

It was a good thing his reactions were quick, because the kickstand alone wouldn't have stopped the bike with their weight when they tipped, especially since it tipped to the opposite side. Luckily, he'd put his foot down fast enough to catch them before they hit the ground.

As soon as Tifa figured out what had happened, she burst out laughing. He was grinning sheepishly, his hair sweaty and sticking up even more than usual. She leaned down to kiss him again, gently this time, before climbing off the bike. Their picnic blanket had somehow become covered with leaves and debris, so she shook it off before setting it back on the ground and crawling onto the crunchy bed.

Cloud took a few minutes to clean up before he joined her. He lay on his back with his arms behind his head, and she snuggled up to him, using one of his arms for a pillow.

"You going to fall asleep?" he asked.

"Probably," she mumbled, already halfway there.

"Denzel got the bar tonight?"

"Mhm."

"You know…he'll notice if we don't come home."

Tifa curled one leg over his. "Denzel's not a child anymore." She smiled sleepily. _Master of my domain._


	5. Bat in the Cave

**Chapter 5: Bat in the Cave**

"I think we need to find a bathroom, Yuffie."

Yuffie goggled at Tifa. "Again? You just went, like, five minutes ago!"

Tifa gulped. "No, I think I'm going to get sick."

Yuffie grabbed her friend's hand and began pulling her in the direction of the nearest public restroom. She was more at home downtown than Tifa would ever be, and she knew the layout of every store for miles around. "It's probably those _five_ truffles you ate. You know, I go shopping with you specifically so that I can _not_ be a mother for a couple hours. I shouldn't have to tell you not to eat so much chocolate that you get a tummy ache."

Tifa stopped abruptly, releasing Yuffie turning to grip the metallic edges of the trash can they were passing. Her stomach gave one last warning gurgle before her binge of truffles made its reappearance. Yuffie sighed and patted her back as Tifa heaved into the can.

"What are you looking at, jerk? Yeah, that's right, move along," she sniped at the curious man who stopped to stare. He gave her an irritated look and continued walking.

Tifa coughed and spit into the can one last time before standing up straight, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

"You ok?" Yuffie asked.

"Mm," Tifa sighed. "Yeah, but I just need to sit down for a few minutes."

Yuffie eyed her critically as they made their way to the bench at the corner of the block. "Are you getting sick or something?"

"I don't know. Maybe," Tifa sighed. "I've just been so tired lately." She plopped down on the metal bench and let her head fall back.

"Uh huh," Yuffie said. She remained standing, looking down at the brunette. "So…craving chocolate…getting sick in the…" she glanced at her watch "…morning…tired all the time. Sounds to me like a very specific kind of sickness," she said, one eyebrow raised.

"Huh?" Tifa barely raised her head. "Is there something going around?"

Yuffie snorted. "You could say that. Although it's been going around forever."

"Could you please stop being so cryptic?" Tifa groaned. "I'm too tired to figure out your riddles right now."

"Well jeez, I didn't think it was a tough one, Teef." When Tifa didn't respond, Yuffie sighed impatiently. "Sounds an awful lot like there's a bat in the cave."

"A…bat? What?"

"You know…the rabbit died? In the pudding club? Bun in the oven?"

Tifa finally raised her head. "Is this supposed to be some kind of weird sex slang?"

"Gah! Tifa! Quit being so obtuse! It's so obvious you're pregnant!"

Tifa stared at her blankly. "Pregnant?"

"I'm so proud of you, girl! You finally smacked some sense into that boy, huh?"

"Uh…Cloud? Well, not exactly."

"So you decided to go for the sneak attack. Even better! You should've just done that in the first place! You know my plans always work out in the end."

Tifa eyed Yuffie skeptically, deciding against pointing out the numerous spectacular failures on Yuffie's record. "No! Yuf. I'm not pregnant! At least…I don't think I am…"

"Ohhh kay. Let's think through this," Yuffie said patiently. "When were you supposed to get your period?"

"Not for a few more days…although…it has been more erratic lately." She chewed her lip thoughtfully. "I guess…I mean…it's possible…"

"Haha!" Yuffie howled triumphantly. "Congratulations, Tifa!"

"Yuff—"

"The easiest explanation is usually the correct one," Yuffie said promptly.

Tifa's eyes shifted from side to side, flipping through her memory book of the last few weeks. "There was that night in the woods…I missed a couple pills around that time." Could it really be that simple? Could she have gotten pregnant without even trying?

Yuffie was now dancing around the bench gleefully.

"Would you calm down? You're making a scene!" Tifa hissed, pulling Yuffie back down on the bench by the wrist. "We don't know anything yet. But…I've probably put off talking to Cloud for long enough. I need to figure out how to bring it up, you know, just in case."

"This will be so perfect, Teef! We'll have a new little spiky baby and our kids can have playdates and—"

"One thing at a time, Yuf," Tifa said wearily. "I'm not sure how Cloud is going to take it."

"You worry too much," Yuffie said, stretching her arms across the back of the bench. "He'll have to accept it eventually. It's not like it's going to go away. I mean, what's the worst he could do?"

* * *

Tifa felt hollow. She stared at the pack, with the odd missed pills dotting through the plastic. She hadn't missed a ton. There were a few groups of two or three in a row. It didn't seem that important at the time. She wasn't getting pregnant after all those months of inconsistency, and it didn't seem that likely. She wasn't even really watching the days of the month anymore, half scared and half hopeful that something might happen. By the time Yuffie had pointed out her symptoms, it hadn't even occurred to Tifa that she might be pregnant.

So she went to the doctor, still telling herself that Yuffie had no idea what she was talking about. When the doctor came in with a big smile on her face, Tifa still didn't accept it. It was only now that it had sunk in, as she stood in their bedroom and stared at the pack with its protruding pills.

_This is really happening. I'm…going to be a mother. Cloud…is going to be a father. _The first thought made butterflies jump around in her stomach. The second made them fall to the floor, dead.

Cloud didn't want to be a father. He was scared of some Sephiroth-flavored abomination, but Tifa truly didn't understand. Of course she knew what Sephiroth had done. She saw the ashes of her hometown. She saw his sword in her father. She felt the unbridled rage as she charged at the most skilled swordsman on the planet with a weapon she could barely lift, let alone use.

But time and space had given her perspective. Her life was divided into "the before" and "the after". Her recovery in "the after" had taken a long time, and she had been supplied with more books than she could read in a lifetime. She became obsessed with understanding why. Why would he kill all those people he didn't even know? How could a human be so awful?

The first books she found didn't answer any of her questions. They were all about Sephiroth, the war hero. Sephiroth, the legend. Sephiroth, the most amazing being to ever walk the planet.

It took some digging before she read about some truly awful things being done by Shinra laboratories (mainly rumors in little-known publications) and it didn't take her long to figure out what must have been done to Sephiroth. When she was reacquainted with Cloud, years later, she learned of even darker secrets.

It didn't justify what Sephiroth had done, but it helped her understand how he might have gone so wrong. He just snapped.

But these cells Cloud was carrying hadn't corrupted him, had they? These cells – this baby – weren't inherently evil. It just needed proper guidance, and who better to guide this child than one who knew exactly what they were dealing with?

Tifa rested her hand on her toned stomach. "It will be ok," she whispered. Cloud might take a little time to get used to the idea, but he would adapt. He would be a wonderful father. She was sure of it.

* * *

"We need to talk."

Cloud looked up from his calculations, but kept his finger in place on the receipts. He scratched his head absently with the eraser of his pencil. "Can it wait? I'm in the middle of reconciling last year's receipts for—"

"I don't think so," Tifa said softly. "We've put it off for too long already."

He frowned, looked back down and scribbled something on the papers before closing the ledger. He set it aside and leaned back in his chair. "Ok. What's up?"

Tifa pulled out the chair across the table and seated herself. "I…I'm not satisfied with…the answer you gave me."

Cloud raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Tifa swallowed. "About…why you don't want kids."

His face dropped. "Tifa—"

"I know you love kids," she interrupted. "You were great with Denzel and Marlene, and Yuffie's kids adore you! Can't we at least talk about it?"

Cloud pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a moment before responding. "It's not that I don't want kids." He sighed heavily. "It's just that they can't be mine. Biologically, I mean. If you want to look into adopting, we can talk about it." His eyes went distant and he smiled slightly. "You know, I actually like that idea. I wouldn't mind having little ones around here again. We might have to tighten up some things, financially, but we can probably afford it better than we could when Mar and Denz were little. In fact—"

He was actually starting to look a little excited about the idea, and Tifa had to stop him before he got too excited about planning. "I'm…really glad you're ok with that, Cloud. Adopting again would be nice, but…well, I really want one that's…us. Half you and half me. Can't you imagine? A little boy with dark hair like mine, but spiky like yours? Beautiful blue eyes with red flecks?"

Any trace of a smile was now gone. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, Teef." He abruptly stood and started to walk toward the kitchen. Tifa jumped up to intercept him. No matter what, she wouldn't let him run away from it this time. They were going to have this conversation, even if she had to tie him down to make him listen.

"But what if we could?" She caught his arm before he could get any further.

He stopped, turning to look at her. There was something different in his eyes this time, something she couldn't quite identify. "We can't," he said flatly, and turned away again.

He made it two steps closer to the door before she worked up the courage to say it. "We did."

Cloud froze. He turned around slowly. "What…do you mean?" he asked. It was clearer now, that look in his eyes. She could easily identify it. Fear.

Her confidence faltered, but she stiffened her back. They could do this. He would see. Everything would be fine. Her smile was full of hope. "I…I'm pregnant."

She had played out this conversation a hundred times in her head. When she was in an optimistic mood, she imagined that he was happy when he heard the news. When she was feeling less dreamy, he was worried and nervous, but she was always able to reassure him that everything would be ok. She had imagined many scenarios, but in none of them had his face completely drained of color. Never had he looked so pained, so hopeless, as he stumbled back and sank slowly into a chair. Never had he whispered, "Oh fuck," and then, louder, "FUCK!"

Tifa tried hard to keep up her smile as she knelt down in front of him. He was staring through the floor, and it was the only way she could get in his line of sight. She put her hands on his knees and squeezed, but he was somewhere else entirely. He wouldn't focus on her.

"Cloud, listen! It'll be ok. I know it will! We'll get through it together, just like we always do. This…this is a gift. It will be wonderful! You'll see."

"How…did this happen?"

She wasn't sure if he even knew she was in the room anymore, or if he was talking to himself.

"You were…taking the pill. It wasn't supposed to happen."

Oh. So he was addressing her. Tifa felt a nervous flutter in her stomach. "I—I was, yes. It doesn't work one hundred percent of the time. I mean, it—"

Suddenly, his eyes focused sharply on her. "You have to get rid of it."

"What?!" He had definitely never said anything like that in the conversations in her head. She didn't even know how to respond to that. "Cloud, how could you even…I would never…"

He stood up abruptly, pulling her up with him. "Let's go. There must be somewhere—"

Tifa planted her feet, but he seemed completely oblivious to her protests or her struggles as he dragged her toward the door. "Cloud! Stop it! Let go of me!" She pried desperately at his fingers, trying to free her arm, but his grip was like an iron clamp.

"It's ok. We can fix this." Now that he had a plan of action, he seemed fully in control of his body, although maybe not completely connected to reality.

Her shoes dragged against the floor as if she were no more significant than a piece of paper. "Cloud, STOP!" She pulled back her fist and slugged him in the head with all her strength.

Cloud released her as he fell to his knees, his hands clutching at his head. He seemed confused when he looked up, wincing. "Tifa? What the hell?"

Tifa was breathing heavily from the rush of adrenaline, gently shaking her arm. It had been a long time since she'd put that much power behind a strike. Her wrist hurt. Her hand hurt. The other arm where he'd been gripping was an angry red, soon to be black and blue. It only added to the number of reasons she wanted to cry. He was supposed to be happy! He was supposed to be supportive! She needed him, and this was the worst possible time for him to have one of his head episodes.

She swallowed hard and stood up tall. "I'm not getting rid of him, Cloud. I can't believe you would even suggest that!"

He sagged brokenly on the floor. "Teef, I can't…I can't lose you…fail you…too…"

Her anger ebbed slightly. "Hey. You're not going to lose me. I'll be fine." She knelt down next to him. "Look, I knew this would be hard for you to accept. It was hard for me, too! I had no idea I was pregnant. But I think if you take a little time to process it, you'll realize that this is a miracle. You didn't think you could even have kids, right? And…and I was taking the pill, so I shouldn't have been able to, either. This is something special, Cloud. This is you and me, our love, that created a child. I know we didn't expect it, but I won't give it up for anything."

He didn't seem to react to her speech at all. She reached out and lifted his chin, wincing at the pain that shot up her hand and wrist. Cloud _did_ react to that.

"You're hurt." He gingerly took her forearm and examined her swelling wrist.

"It's just a sprain," Tifa said. It was her own stupid fault for hitting him so hard in the first place.

His eyes landed on her other arm, where finger-shaped marks were starting to appear. "Shit," he breathed.

"It's ok," Tifa said quickly.

"No it's not," he said, looking pained. "Hang on, let me get some materia."

"Cloud, it's fine, I—" He was already across the room, pushing open the kitchen door. Tifa sighed. She didn't care about her wrists at the moment. They needed to talk about this. She needed to make him understand. She needed to know he accepted it.

It should have taken him only a moment to get the Heal materia. They kept it close at hand. The fact that he was gone for several minutes was starting to worry her, but when he came back into the room, he seemed to have put himself together.

"Got it," he said, showing her the green stone. He approached her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Tifa…you know I love you, right?"

She knew, although he rarely said it outright like that. She smiled hesitantly. "I love you, too. Everything's going to be ok, Cloud. We'll get through this."

He pulled her to him, and she sank into his familiar warmth. "That's right. We will. Because we're going to take care of this right now. _Sleep_."

* * *

Yuffie had just finished putting the kids to bed and was trying to come up with an excuse to get Morty to leave her alone when the universe supplied one. The doorbell rang. She gleefully pushed him off of her and snatched her shirt from the bedpost. "I have to get the door."

"Baby. Come on. Just leave it," he begged.

"It might be important," Yuffie said.

She walked across the expansive kitchen, the plush dining room, and into the domed foyer, already happy to see whoever had given her a reprieve from her husband. She pulled the door open with a big grin on her face, but it faded almost instantly.

"Tifa?"

Her best friend looked up at her with eyes reddened and puffy from crying.

"What happened, honey? Come on, come inside." Yuffie grabbed her hands and pulled her gently over the threshold. "Is it Cloud? Did that bastard say something bad when you told him about the…b-a-b-y?"

"I can spell, Yuffie," Morty said dryly from behind her. "Cloud and Tifa are having a baby? That's great news! Congratulations, Tee—"

Yuffie spun around to snap at him. "Morty, not now, ok? Tifa and I need to talk alone. Just…go watch TV in the bedroom or something."

Morty pulled his robe tighter around his wiry frame and scowled. "Fine. Tifa…anything you need, you just let us know, ok?"

"Morty!"

"Alright, I'm going. Jeez," he grumbled as he retreated.

Yuffie turned back to her friend. "Come into the living room. I'll make us some tea and you can tell me what happened, ok?"

Tifa nodded and sniffled. Yuffie got her settled on the couch with a box of tissues and went into the kitchen to make the tea. What had that bastard said to her? Cloud could be pretty thick sometimes. At times like this, she didn't understand how Tifa put up with him. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Even though she thought of him like an annoying older brother, Yuffie had to admit the boy was hotter than hell, and judging by the little details she was able to pry out of Tifa, he was amazing in the sack. Still, there were limits to how much a woman should be expected to put up with, and Cloud Strife had a knack for pushing those boundaries.

Take their wedding, for example. Tifa had stuck by him for ten years without even a hint of a ring, despite Yuffie's frequent hint-dropping in his presence. And then, out of nowhere, he decided they should get married. It was anti-romantic to the extreme. Yuffie would have turned him down just on principle until he could get it right, but of course she never would have stuck around that long in the first place.

Yuffie sighed. She had a hard time understanding Tifa's patience in general. _'He's been through a lot, Yuffie. He has to do things in his own time and his own way, and I'm ok with that.' _ Of course, _he_ hadn't been the one to sit on the phone with her for hours after he got Geostigma and just disappeared without a word. _He_ hadn't listened to her fretting and worrying and wondering what she had done wrong for months. _He_ wasn't the one who had to force her to accept a donation from her friends so that she could feed herself and the kids.

Tifa was so hopeful when he came back, so convinced that he was healing and would learn how to behave like a normal human being, but Yuffie never looked at him the same way again. She was glad he was back and everything, happy to see that smile that only he could put on Tifa's face, but he had hurt her best friend deeply. Yuffie could forgive, but she wouldn't forget.

She had gone into the kitchen partially to give herself some time to get into supportive mode, but thinking about everything from the past, she was only succeeding in getting more worked up. The tea kettle shrieked on the stove. Yuffie reached over to flip it off and gave herself a little pep talk. "I will not jump to conclusions. I will be supportive and understanding and just listen to what she tells me. I will not verbally tear him down because eventually they will get back together and everything will be awkward when I see him again."

As she carried the tea into the living room, Tifa wiped her nose and straightened up, but Yuffie hadn't missed the slumped, defeated posture. "All right, what did that asshole say to you? Was he not supportive? I knew he wouldn't be. You shouldn't have let him touch you in the first place."

Tifa looked up as she accepted her tea. Her eyes were dry now, but the redness remained, pulling out the reddish tones in her irises, reflecting harshly in the light.

"Not…supportive?" she said faintly. "No. I knew he wouldn't be supportive. I expected him not to be excited. But it was…so much worse."

Her face crumpled again. Yuffie took the teacup from Tifa's shaking hands and placed it on the coffee table, then pulled her sobbing friend into a hug.

_I'm going to kill that bastard._


	6. Yuffie Takes Charge

**A/N** \- Thanks to Denebola Leo, once again, for helping me climb out of crappy chapter-dom with some great ideas and suggestions for improvement. This would truly be a different story without her - if it happened at all.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Yuffie Takes Charge**

Tifa blew her nose loudly into the tissue while Yuffie patted her back awkwardly. "Ok, honey, tell me all about it. Tell me how much of him I need to chop off."

Normally, this would have gotten at least an exasperated smile out of Tifa, but today she looked like she might seriously consider it. "I…" Tifa's voice shook and her eyes welled up again. "I think we're done, Yuffie. I can't trust him anymore. It's been a long time since he had one of his episodes, but…"

Yuffie scowled. "But once is more than enough. What if it happens after the baby is born? He could hurt him, or worse!" Her eyes widened. "He could hurt you now, Teef, and it wouldn't be just you anymore!"

Tifa swallowed hard, but her voice still shook. "I know. That's why I left. He…he…"

"Auntie Teefee! It's too late to come ov-oh! We all in bed!"

The women looked over at the four year old in footie pajamas standing next to the couch. He looked truly confused as to why Tifa would ever want to come over if not to visit him and his siblings.

"Jacky, what are you doing up?" Yuffie scolded.

With wide brown eyes full of sincerity, he looked up at his mother. "I had to go pee-pee."

"Oh." Yuffie sighed. "You're supposed to take care of that before bedtime, Jacky. You know the rules."

Jacky stuck out his bottom lip. "I did, but it didn't get all gone."

"Alright, fine, just…MAURY!"

Like a well-trained dog, Yuffie's husband appeared in the doorway behind their son. "What's up?"

"Can you take care of Jacky, please? We're trying to talk here."

Jacky looked up at his father. "I have to pee-pee."

Maury's sigh was an echo of Yuffie's, but he held out his hand to the little boy. "Alright, come on, kiddo. You know you're supposed to…."

His voice faded away as they disappeared down the hall. Yuffie pursed her lips and looked back at her guest. "Honestly, it's so rewarding. Why doesn't Cloud want one?"

Tifa pulled herself back to the present.

"Oh. He's afraid of creating a junior Sephiroth or something."

Yuffie winced. "Oy. I guess I can see how that could freak him out a little bit." At Tifa's dismayed look, she rushed to cover her tracks. "But that's so silly! That would never happen. With you as a mother? Come on. That kid would be an angel."

Tifa gave her a watery smile. "I guess I can see why he'd be scared, but he shouldn't have…"

She trailed off, and Yuffie struggled to contain her impatience. "What did the asshole do, Tifa?!"

Tifa looked down at the hands clasped in her lap. "He told me we had to get rid of it." Yuffie scoffed in disgust. "And when I told him I wouldn't even consider it, he…he…he used a sleep spell to knock me out."

Yuffie jumped to her feet. "That bastard! I knew it! He can't just do whatever he wants with your body! He—" Her eyes grew big and round, suddenly realizing just what he might have done. "Tifa, did he….against your will…?" She couldn't seem to put it into words.

* * *

**\- Twelve Hours Earlier -**

Tifa woke up flat on her back.

"Cloud?" she murmured sleepily.

A warm hand stroked her cheek. "Shh. It's ok, honey. Don't be scared. I'm here."

"Here?" As the vestiges of the spell lingered in her system, she tried to make sense of her surroundings. It shouldn't have been difficult; it was their bedroom. She was in bed, snug and warm with the blankets tucked around her. Cloud sat on the edge of the bed next to her. She closed her eyes and let her head sink back into the pillow. "I feel weird, Cloud."

"I know. Here, sit up. I made some tea for you." He slid an arm under her back and helped her scoot up on the pillows.

Tifa groaned in faint protest. "I'm so groggy. Were we drunk last night?"

Cloud chuckled. "No. This will help, though." He pressed the teacup into her hands, and she held it loosely, making no effort to bring it to her mouth.

"Drink it," Cloud pressed. "It will make you feel better."

"Jeez, so bossy," Tifa said with a little giggle, but she obediently lifted the cup and took a small drink. Almost immediately, she grimaced and pulled the cup away from her face.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked nervously. "Did I make it wrong?"

It had a strangely bitter under-taste. "It's…different," Tifa said. "What did you put in it?"

"Some herbs I read about," he said, glancing down at the cup. "I thought it would help…"

She chuckled and sat up straighter. "Well, it definitely woke me up." She set the cup on her nightstand and pushed hair away from her face. Cloud's eyes widened slightly. "How did I get here?" she asked, looking around the bedroom. It was the same as always: small, built from scrap, but cozy and filled with memories.

"I carried you up here," Cloud said.

"Mm. What happened before that?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"You…fainted," he said hesitantly.

"Really?" Tifa shook her head. "I don't think that's ever happened to me before."

"I know," Cloud said. He picked up the teacup again. "I'm sorry about the taste, but you really should drink it. It will make you feel better." He brought it up to her lips.

It seemed like he'd really gone to some trouble to make her something special, and Tifa felt a little guilty for her initial reaction, so she let him tip the bitter tea into her mouth. She managed to swallow the first few gulps, but it was coming in too fast. An abundance of liquid filled her mouth and splashed against her throat. Tifa coughed, spraying most of it over her blankets.

Cloud swore and jumped up. He had somehow managed to rescue the cup from her hands, and he set it down on the nightstand before swiping at the droplets on his face. "Are you ok?"

She coughed a few more times, but her voice was still rough when she spoke. "Yeah. I'm fine. Sorry about that."

He laughed ruefully and sat back down on the bed. "It's my fault. I'm a terrible nurse, aren't I?"

She slid down on the pillows. "You just need more practice," Tifa said with a smile. "I like it when you take care of me."

The anxiousness on Cloud's face slipped down a notch. He rubbed his fingers against the side of her scalp. It was soothing, and she was still so tired. She let her eyelids droop a little bit, and he deepened the massage.

"Everything's gonna be ok, Tifa. We'll go back to the way things were before, and it'll be like nothing ever happened."

"Hm? Like I never fainted?" she asked without opening her eyes.

"Yeah."

"Mm," she said drowsily. "I can't believe I did that. That's like something that only happens on TV…that's when you find out the woman's pregnant."

Cloud's fingers stopped moving against her scalp. It only took her another second for the memory to come back. She shot up in bed. "I didn't faint!"

Cloud had gotten to his feet. "Tifa, I—"

The images hit her like a film strip, coming faster and faster: the missed pills, staring at her like accusing eyes; the doctor in her dingy white coat, walking in with a big smile; Cloud, scratching his head with a pencil; Cloud, dragging her toward the door; the punch, the sprained wrist, the materia.

"You…you knocked me out!" She threw back the covers and got to her feet, anger and fear giving her strength. "What did you do to me, Cloud? What did you do when I was sleeping?"

"Nothing! Nothing, I swear. I just carried you up here and put you to bed." His eyes were wide with panic, but he seemed sincere. He never had been a good liar.

Tifa looked behind her at the bed. "Then why did you…" her eyes narrowed as they landed on the teacup. "What was in that tea?"

"I…I told you, just some herbs." But he looked away when he said it.

Tifa's voice grew hard. "What were they for, Cloud?"

"Tifa, I'm just trying to protect you," he said appeasingly.

"Protect me from what?" she demanded. "From a baby? From _our_ baby?!"

"It's not a baby!" he snapped back, his voice rising. "Don't you understand? It's an abomination!"

Tifa was breathing too fast. Her head was spinning. Her stomach was turning. Ignoring his pleas, she pushed past him and ran to the bathroom. She slammed the door and locked it, then dropped down to her knees in front of the toilet.

She had always hated vomiting. She hated the taste it left in her mouth. She hated the feeling of things moving in the wrong direction. She hated the helplessness of it, how she couldn't stop it even if she wanted to. But this time, she didn't want to. She jammed her finger down her throat, reflexively pulling back when she gagged, but nothing came out. She tried again. Her stomach lurched and she coughed, but still, nothing came out. Taking a shaky breath, she shoved her finger down farther. She gagged again, but she made herself keep it there, even as her throat fought against it. She kept going until her stomach finally gave a massive lurch, pushing back with everything it had.

"Tifa? Tifa. Please, will you just let me explain?" Over the violent retching, she could barely hear him on the other side of the door. "I'm sorry about the sleep, ok? I didn't want to trick you, but you wouldn't listen to me. I had to do something. I had to protect you."

Finally, a breath. Five seconds, and then she heaved again. The doorknob rattled against the lock, and she heard something softly thud against the door: his forehead? Was he just sitting there listening to her puke? Was he feeling guilty over how miserable she was?

Tifa coughed several times and then rested her head on the toilet seat, exhausted. Whatever was going to come out was out, but she feared that too much had already been absorbed. She was dizzy and shaky, and everything felt thick and slow.

Then she heard his voice again. He sounded defeated. "There were…things that happened back in the lab. Things I've never told you. Things I can't talk about. I don't want to go back there."

"Tifa?" She didn't respond. She sat there in an exhausted haze, wondering if he would just go away if she remained silent. There was no malice behind it; it was more of an idle thought. She thought she might fall asleep there, but before her eyes could close, a fist slammed against the wood. Blinking and trying to clear her blurred vision, Tifa braced her hands against the toilet and pushed herself to her feet.

"Damn it, Tifa, I had no choice!"

Tifa reached over and wrenched open the door. Cloud almost fell through it, barely catching himself in the doorway. She was pale and shaky, and she stared at him with listless eyes.

"You always had a choice, Cloud. But you took away mine."

* * *

"I'm going to kill him," Yuffie seethed. "I swear to Gaia, I'm going to kill him."

Tifa just looked at her wearily. "That's not really helping right now, Yuf."

Yuffie tried hard to control her anger, really, but it wasn't her strong suit. "What did he even put in that tea? It could've hurt you! It could've hurt the baby! You can't ever go back to him, Teef. You can't trust him. Whatever's fucked up in his head, it's his problem now. You put up with it for too long, and now you've got a baby to protect and—"

Tifa's lip began to quiver, and she burst into tears again. Yuffie sat back down on the couch and pulled her friend into a hug. "Aww, damn, Tifa. I'm sorry. Hey, you know what? One of Maury's clients is a doctor. Like, a lady parts doctor. We can call him right now."

Tifa shook her head slowly. "Don't bother."

"No, it's fine!" Yuffie insisted, jumping up. "This guy will have to take care of you, even this late at night, because he really needs Maury to win his case. They called him Dr. Seduction." Yuffie waggled her eyebrows. "He's in some deep shit because his patients had a tendency to end up pregnant after their appointments, but that won't be a problem for you and-."

"Yuffie. Stop." She appreciated her friend's attempt to make her smile, but at the moment, she felt like she might never smile again. "It's too late."

Yuffie swore and sat down on the couch again. "Are...are you sure?"

Tifa nodded, a steady stream of tears sliding silently down her face.

"Oh….. oh." Yuffie didn't know what to say, so she pulled her friend back into a hug.

Tifa's silent tears became not-so-silent, gradually becoming stronger until her back shook and Yuffie's shirt was thoroughly soaked. "What am I going to do, Yuf?" Tifa sobbed. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Yuffie rested her cheek on the top of Tifa's head. "You're going to stay here. You're going to get some sleep, and then tomorrow, you're going to sit down with Maury and draw up divorce papers."

Tifa's head jerked up. "Divorce?!"

"Or…you know…whatever you're ready for. The point is, you're going to sleep on it and then think about it with a clear head tomorrow."

Yuffie bit her lip as she pulled Tifa's head back down to her shoulder. Maybe it was a little too soon to bring that up. Maybe Tifa wasn't ready to accept that it was over just yet. But in time, Yuffie knew she would accept it. That bastard would never get near Tifa again.

* * *

Maury shook his head stoutly. "Sorry, mate, I can't let you in."

"I just need to talk to her, Maury. She never gave me a chance to explain."

"I don't think it's the right time, Cloud. She's still pretty shaken."

"That's why I need to explain! I need her to understand why I did what I did."

Maury's arms crossed over his narrow chest. "Really, man, I can't. Yuffie will kill me if I let you get past." This had to be difficult for Maury, who practically hero-worshipped Cloud, despite Yuffie's frequent rants about him. Or perhaps it was partly because of those rants that he admired the man so much. Because, if he were being honest with himself, Yuffie ranted about everything, and even when she ranted, she had to mention the things Cloud had done. Being rather scrawny for his entire life, Maury had always wished to be bigger and stronger, and that obscene sword that Cloud carried blatantly represented his strength.

Cloud ran a hand through his spikes. "Ok. I understand. I'll…give her some time." He turned and walked slowly back down the steps.

Maury watched until he had mounted his bike, and his taillights faded into the dark streets. He'd always wanted that bike, but Cloud wouldn't sell it for any price. Hell, for a long time, he wanted Cloud's life. He was insanely jealous after hearing Yuffie's stories of action and adventure. He had a beautiful wife who took care of him and didn't constantly harp on him; in fact, Cloud could pretty much come and go as he pleased, and everything would be waiting for him when he came back. But after the story he'd heard the night before, his whole world view had been turned upside-down. To do what he'd done, there had to be something seriously wrong with Cloud Strife.

* * *

"Auntie Teefie!"

Two small bodies bounced on the mattress of the guest room bed, waking Tifa from her exhausted sleep. She smiled sleepily at the boys.

"Good morning," she said.

"Auntie Teefie, did you have a sleepover here last night?" Jacky asked.

"Mhm," she said, pushing herself up into a sitting position.

"I saw her last night," Nicky informed his brother proudly. "She came too late to play with us."

"Are you going to play with us today?" Jacky asked, his eyes wide.

"Maybe," Tifa replied. "Let's go see what we can dig up for breakfast first, huh?"

It was a deeply ingrained habit for Tifa to cook for everyone, so it felt strange to see Maury in the kitchen, already at the stove.

"Good morning," he greeted the trio as they entered the room. "What would you like in your omelet, Tifa?"

"Oh, you don't have to go to the trouble," Tifa said. "I can make my own."

"Don't be silly, you're a guest! And it's no trouble. I'm already making them for everyone else."

"Oh. Well, alright." Tifa walked over to the counter to examine the array of available ingredients for her omelet. It was really quite extensive. Some of the ingredients were still pretty difficult to get around Edge. Back when Cloud had his delivery service, if he traveled to a far-off location, he had occasionally brought some back for her.

The thought brought the first pang to her stomach. She missed those younger days, when he used to study her like a puzzle to figure out what she liked, what she wanted, because Tifa never asked for anything. When he did something sweet like that, presenting them with that silly, sheepish smile, it melted her heart.

"Tifa? Are you ok?" Maury prodded.

"O-oh! Yes. I'm ok."

Maury rested a hand on her shoulder and met her eyes. "Yuffie told me what happened. Whatever you need, we're here for you, ok?"

Tifa felt her eyes misting over and she quickly looked away. "Thanks, Maury." To distract herself, she began choosing from the ingredients spread across the counter.

Maury refused to let her help with the food preparation, so she returned to sit at the table, where Nicky and Jacky were already seated, plucking slices of fruit from a bowl in the middle.

"Awe you staying again tonight, Auntie Teefie?" Nicky asked with big brown eyes.

"Oh, um, I'm not sure," she said awkwardly.

"You can stay as long as you like," Maury assured her as Yuffie entered the room with Lonnie propped on one hip. She looked like she hadn't slept very well herself.

"Boys, don't pester Tifa, ok?" Yuffie said, smothering a wide yawn. "Remember the rule? No questions until Mommy has her coffee. It goes for other people, too."

"Sorry, Mommy," the boys said in unison. It sounded like they'd had a lot of practice with that particular phrase.

The conversation over breakfast stayed on safe topics after that. Tifa asked the boys questions about what they were learning in school; their nanny taught them at home instead of sending them to the school that had been set up in Edge. Yuffie's house was on the outskirts of town anyway, a decent drive from downtown.

"Where is Nessa?" Tifa asked, glancing around the room as if the nanny might be hiding in one of the corners.

"Oh, she doesn't come in until about nine," Yuffie shrugged. Nessa had a small guest house on the property, so at least she had her own space when she wasn't working.

"Teefee, can you pway with us until Nanny comes?"

"No, Nicky, the grownups need to talk," Yuffie said before Tifa could respond. "You two can go in the toy room until she comes in."

Nicky looked crushed, but Tifa softened it with a gentle smile. "Maybe later, ok?"

With the resilience only children seem to possess, Nicky's angelic smile resurfaced, and he finished his breakfast with the same goofy playfulness as always.

Nessa appeared shortly thereafter, taking Lonnie off of Yuffie's hands and going to set up the boys' lessons. Nervous about the awkward conversation to follow, Tifa began clearing off the table. Maury opened his mouth to say something, but Yuffie put a hand on his arm and shook her head. She knew that Tifa needed to feel normal, and taking care of others was what she did.

Yuffie grabbed a dish towel and joined Tifa at the sink to dry. They had a dishwasher, but if washing things by hand made Tifa feel better, she wasn't going to stop her.

Tifa did seem to regain a little of her equilibrium as they worked together. She seemed to be working on autopilot, scrubbing and rinsing without really seeing. "You know what really gets to me?" she asked, out of the blue.

"What?"

"The fact that he thought I would just forgive him. He really thought he could tell me whatever messed up reason he has, and we would just go back to normal and pretend like he didn't knock me out and kill our…baby."

Yuffie, who thought she had vented all of her frustrations to Maury the previous night, felt her anger bubbling up again. She was glad to see righteous indignation from Tifa instead of heartbreak, because Yuffie had been nursing some kick-ass rage since all of this started, and it didn't seem appropriate to go off on a rant when Tifa was barely holding it together.

"I still can't believe he had the nerve to cast Sleep on you when he didn't agree with your decision!"

"I know!" Tifa agreed furiously. "Like he has the right to make the decision for both of us."

"I always knew he was a controlling asshat. He never let you make any decisions."

Tifa turned to look at her. "That's…not true, Yuffie. He lets me make most of the decisions about the household."

"Oh. Right. Sorry. Got carried away," Yuffie said, furrowing her brow. "But I bet he controls everything during sex!"

Tifa's face burned red as she glanced over her shoulder at Maury. "Yuffie! We're not…talking about that!"

Yuffie snorted. "Fine, fine. But I'm sure Maury wants to hear it too…"

Tifa silenced that train of thought with a look, and Maury jumped in to rescue her.

"So what are you going to do, Tifa? You have to talk to him eventually."

Tifa chewed her lip and began scrubbing furiously on the omelet pan. "I don't know. I don't know if I even want to hear his reasons."

"Who says you have to?" Yuffie retorted. Oops. She'd really been trying to stay neutral on the Cloud front, but it was hard when the damage was so raw and in her face. She sighed and looked over at Tifa. "Look, I'm really sorry, but there are some things that are just unforgivable."

* * *

Cloud was dripping with sweat.

His faithful Fenrir sat at the edge of the forest, on the other end of a trail of dead monsters that led all the way to him. Breathing heavily, Cloud wiped the blood off his sword on a chunk of fur that came from…well, one of those animals. He needed to burn off some steam, but the forest monsters just weren't cutting it today. He wasn't just angry and confused. He was worried and remorseful and frustrated and pained, and it just wasn't the same.

He knew he'd fucked up. He should've spent more time trying to convince her. It needed to be done soon, but not that second. He'd just panicked at the thought that he couldn't stop her. He couldn't deal with the thought of losing her. So not only had he failed to convince her that they had no choice but to get rid of the abomination, he had scared and pissed her off at the same time. And now the only thing he wanted to do was talk to her, but she was hiding out at Yuffie's and he couldn't even explain himself!

With a frustrated growl, Cloud sprinted toward the sound of the nearest living creature and launched himself at the pile of jelly. It never even saw him coming. The flan squealed out loud when his sword cleaved through its middle, a horrendous screech of shock and pain.

Several more predictably followed, as a sword is a horribly inefficient way to kill to a magical creature. He was swinging so furiously that it never even had a chance to fight back.

When the flan finally slumped to the ground, Cloud threw down his sword and ran his hands through his hair. This wasn't helping. He needed to get this under control, think about this rationally.

He sat down on the ground, his back against a tree next to the shapeless green blob. He took in several slow, deep breaths and tried to clear his head. There would be another chance to talk to her. She was needed at the bar that evening. She could yell and scream at him all she wanted, but she couldn't walk away when she had a bar to attend to. Tifa was far too responsible to let her personal issues get in the way of her duties.

* * *

"She's not working tonight," Yuffie said matter-of-factly as she polished the bar counter.

"What do you mean she's not working?" Cloud demanded. "She has it written on the calendar. She's supposed to be on tonight."

"Well, now I'm supposed to."

Cloud kept his thoughts to himself and sat down on one of the bar stools. Yuffie was quite proud of herself for keeping her mouth shut. Tifa had accepted her offer to work for her that evening, but she begged Yuffie to stay out of it if she saw Cloud.

_"Please don't say anything to him, Yuffie. I...I don't know what I'm going to do yet, and you've only heard one side of the story."_

_"The side I actually believe,"_ Yuffie had retorted, but she'd reluctantly agreed not to engage Cloud.

He was still sitting on the bar stool, brooding, and the picture seemed incomplete without a drink to brood over.

"So, you gonna buy something or just take up spots from paying customers?" she asked when she could stand the silence no longer.

Cloud raised his head. "Is she coming home tonight?"

"No, Cloud, she's not."

Cloud sighed. "Ok, when will she be back?"

"I dunno."

"What am I supposed to tell Denzel?"

"Tell him the truth," she retorted, unable to help the poison that leaked into her tone. "He's a grown man. Or are you too ashamed for him to find out what you did?"

That seemed to hit Cloud hard. He slouched down on the stool. "I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, Yuffie. I'm worried about her."

Yuffie's response was just a snort as she continued wiping the bar.

"Please, just tell me she's ok," Cloud pleaded.

"She's fine at my house, Cloud. She even gets to wipe her own ass."

"What?" Cloud blinked, startled. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about your control issues. I'm talking about not using magic on her when we have a difference of opinion," she said. Her tone was matter-of-fact, but she was scrubbing far too hard at the same spot on the counter, and her face was tightening around the edges. "I'm talking about making decisions together, especially decisions that affect us both!"

Cloud looked away. "I know, I just…I panicked. I can't lose her, Yuffie."

Expecting self-righteous responses about how he knew better than her, and how Yuffie should mind her own damn business, she was caught off guard by his vulnerability. She looked at him then, really saw him, and was suddenly ashamed of herself. It was easy to get caught up in the imaginary persona on the wrong side of a black and white issue, but was anything ever really so clear? And the worst part was, she knew Cloud. She didn't know him like she knew Tifa, obviously, because Cloud pretty much kept to himself, but they'd spent the better part of a year traveling across the planet together, fighting side-by-side, exhausted and scared and certain they were going to die. They had been through some serious shit together, and while she didn't always agree with his decisions, they weren't _selfish_ decisions. He did what he did because he thought it was the right thing. It made her feel completely wrong-footed and awkward. Did she really think he had changed so much since those days?

"Well...then...why would you do something like this?"

"Nothing personal, Yuffie, but this is between Tifa and me," he said wearily. Then: "I _would_ like a drink, bartender. Whiskey."

Yuffie gave him a puzzled look as she flipped a glass from below the counter.

"Not that," Cloud said. "Gimme the bottle."

Yuffie stood up on her toes to pull down the bottle and set it in front of him. "You're going to sit at the bar and drink right out of the bottle?" she asked.

"Nope," Cloud said, standing up as he swiped the bottle. "I'm going to my room."

* * *

"Let me see her, Maury."

Maury was nervous. He tugged at his tie and tried to ignore the dripping sweat along his hairline. He stood inside, the door open just far enough to see his face.

"I told you, Cloud. It's not the right time."

"The right time? The sooner I can make her understand, the sooner I can fix this." Lines appeared on Maury's forehead, but he didn't reply. "Come on, you know how women can be. You can't tell me Yuffie's never gotten pissed over something because she...things you knew."

"Sorry?"

Cloud shook himself a little. "Cause she didn't know the things you didn't...you knew."

Maury shifted uncomfortably. There was a strong smell of alcohol coming off of Cloud, and he seemed more combative than the last time he'd shown up. " Look, I want to help you, mate, but Yuffie will kill me if I—"

"Yuffie's not here," Cloud interrupted. "She's at the bar. So she can't stop me. And neither can you." He smacked his hand against the door, causing Maury to stumble back into the entryway, pushing his way inside. The door closed behind him with a satisfying _thump_.

"Cloud, you—"

"Uncle Cloudy! Are you going to stay with us, too?" Cloud looked down to see Jacky bounding into the entryway. He let out a breath and squatted down unsteadily, nearly losing his balance.

"Hey, buddy. I don't think I can stay. Could you go get Tifa for me?"

"Ok!"

"Jacky—" Maury called after him, but the little boy had already dashed off to fulfill his request.

"Is this really how you want to prove you have good intentions, Cloud? Forcing your way inside and tricking her into seeing you?"

Lacking his usual effortless grace, Cloud put his hands on the ground and slowly stood up. "I...I don't…" Maury reached out to steady him. Cloud looked so lost, and Maury was much more adept than his wife at seeing both sides of a story. It was a necessary skill for a lawyer, to see them both in order to manipulate them. But now, he wasn't thinking about manipulating anyone. He was thinking about how bad he felt for Cloud at that moment, and what he could say to convince him to leave. If he were to have any shot at fixing things with Tifa, he had to do it with a clear head.

Just then, Nicky came trotting back into the room. "Tifa says, 'no thank you'," the little boy relayed. Then, with a tilt of his head and his oddly mature diction: "Are you in the doghouse?"

Cloud glanced over at Maury, who looked sheepish. It was a phrase with which they were very familiar. Cloud gave a sad little smile to the boy.

"Yeah, buddy. I guess I am. Can you just tell her…" he sighed and rested a hand on Jacky's shoulder. "Tell her I'm sorry, and to come home when she's ready to talk to me."

"Ok." He gave Cloud a nod of approval. "Good job. Saying sorry usually helps."

"Does it?" Cloud wondered. He wasn't sure if 'sorry' would cut it this time.

"Yes," Jacky said seriously. "It's even better if you look really pathetic and sad."

"Huh. Then please be sure to tell her how pathetic and sad I look, too."

"Aye, aye, Captain Cloudy!" He turned to run out of the room, but halted at the doorway to the living room. "Will you stay and play with us next time you come?"

Cloud stared at him for a long time without answering. Maury was just about to intervene when he finally spoke. "I hope so, buddy."


	7. Not Quite Alright

**Chapter 7: Not Quite Alright**

Yuffie smiled lazily as she watched the boys splashing around in the pool with Tifa. It was nice to hear Tifa laugh after everything she'd been through.

She was wearing a bikini, and the lines of muscle in her abs stood out in the shadows cast from the sun. If anything, they were even more pronounced than they had been in her youth. Yuffie would have been jealous if she weren't so sad that her friend would never get to experience the joy of stretch marks and ballooning of her once-fine curves.

Tifa put a hand over her eyes to shade them and looked over to the side of the pool, where Yuffie was lounging on her chaise. She wore a pair of dark sunglasses and held a huge margarita.

"You coming in? The water feels great," Tifa called to her.

"Nah, I'm good," Yuffie said. She squirted some more lotion onto her legs and rubbed it in with her free hand. "Maybe once it gets a little hotter."

As she spoke, Nicky swam up behind Tifa and jumped up to wrap his arms around her neck. It caught Tifa by surprise, and she nearly fell backwards trying to adjust to the weight of the little boy.

"Nicky, be careful!" Yuffie scolded. "You're gonna—"

But Tifa had already leaned forward, grabbed the little boy by his upper arms, and tossed him over her head into the deep end of the pool. He popped back up, giggling madly.

"Again!"

Yuffie sighed and took a sip of her drink. There was no point in telling the boys to settle down with Tifa. Of all of their honorary aunts and uncles, Cloud and Tifa were the ones happiest to roughhouse with them.

After about another half an hour, Yuffie was emptying the last dregs of her glass, debating whether to make herself another or get in the pool. Tifa was holding up her hands, laughing and calling a truce with the boys, but as she turned away from them, her smile turned into a grimace. She pulled herself out of the pool and began walking quickly toward the house.

"You ok?" Yuffie called.

"Yeah. Just need to use the bathroom," Tifa said.

"Cool. Whip us up something good when you come back out, bartender!" Yuffie said as Tifa slipped through the patio door. She turned her attention back to the boys, who had started up their ongoing argument over who got the minotaur floaty.

"Neither of you get the floaty!" Yuffie called, folding up her shades and pulling off her cover-up. "Mama's in the house, and mama makes the rules. The minotaur is mine!"

She charged toward the pool, running until she reached the edge, then jumped, spread-eagle, into the water between them.

Her body plunged into the cool water. She got a bit up her nose, but it was all worth it for the startled look on her kids' faces when she popped back up. Was it really so unusual for her to play around with them like this? Maybe she should be taking some lessons from Tifa. Surely Yuffie Kisaragi-Porpington didn't need to be reminded how to act like a kid.

* * *

Tifa had no idea how much time had passed when the knocking jarred her awake.

"Teef? Are you ok in there?"

"What? Oh! I'm fine." Tifa flushed the toilet and got to her feet with the help of the bathroom vanity. Gods, she was tired. She turned on the tap and washed her hands, then splashed some water in her face. The spectacle in the mirror looked tired, but otherwise fine.

She turned around and opened the door. Yuffie stood in the hallway with her hands on her hips, looking worried.

"Good gods, Tifa! Are you ok?"

Maybe she didn't look as fine as she thought.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just a little indigestion," she said breezily, brushing by Yuffie and heading toward the kitchen. "What kind of drink do you want?"

Yuffie trailed behind her friend. "Are you sure? You were in there an awfully long time."

"Seriously, Yuffie? Are you timing my bathroom breaks now?" Tifa laughed, glancing back at her. "Actually, there is something wrong. I need something to drink! You got any of that homemade Wutaian wine?"

Yuffie hesitated. "Of course I do. It's a condition of Nissa's employment. But you look a little pale…"

"The wine will fix that," Tifa said with a grin. "Come on. When's the last time we got good and drunk together? We haven't done it since…just before my wedding, right?"

Yuffie frowned at her friend. "It's barely after noon, Teef."

"So? Since when are you the party police?" Tifa pulled down two large wine glasses from the overhead cupboard. "Jeez, Kisaragi, you used to be fun."

"Excuse me?" As Tifa had hoped, calling her by her maiden name got her riled up. "I'm still the undisputed binge queen of the north!" Yuffie declared. "But…" the fire faded from her eyes. "Maybe we should wait until the kids go to bed."

Tifa kept her back turned to Yuffie and steadied her shaky hands on the counter.

"I'm not seriously going to get drunk, Yuffie. I just want a glass."

"Oh." Yuffie sounded taken aback. "Well, I guess, there's no reason not to, since you're not…" she trailed off and Tifa bit her lip to hold back the rush of pain that slammed into her chest. She began rummaging loudly in the drawer for the cork puller.

"Do you want one?" she asked, hoping the noise covered the shakiness of her voice.

"Maybe later. I've been playing in the pool with the kids and I need some water." She peeked around Tifa's shoulder with a hopeful expression. "They've been asking when you're coming back, you know. Are you coming back in the pool?"

"I'm actually really tired right now. I'd just like to relax in the hot tub with my wine, if it's ok with you," Tifa said, still not meeting her eyes. She felt guilty about leaving the kids, but she really wasn't feeling up to playing with them at the moment.

Yuffie nodded slowly, then walked over to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water.

"Yeah, of course. Whatever you need, Teef."

For once, Yuffie was actually not prying into what she was feeling, for which Tifa was eternally grateful. For a while, she had almost felt happy. While she was splashing around with the kids, she had almost been able to forget about the mess that was her life. Now everything was hitting her again, and all she wanted was to numb the pain for a little while.

"You have an ice bucket? We can bring this out there, in case you want some later," Tifa said, finally feeling like it was safe to turn around to look at Yuffie.

"Sure," Yuffie said. She grabbed an ice bucket, pulled the chilled bottle out of the wine fridge, and stuck it in the bucket before pouring the ice around it. She carried it outside, Tifa a step behind with the two wine glasses.

Yuffie's hot tub was in-ground, large enough for 10 people, and near enough to the pool for them to go back and forth between them. She brought over the bucket with the wine and set it next to the hot tub, watching Tifa as she carefully eased into the hot water.

"Tifa…are you ok? Really?"

Tifa took a bracing breath and picked up her wine glass.

"I will be."

* * *

Yuffie popped up from behind Nicky and grabbed him around the waist, delighting in the little boy's peals of laughter echoing off the stone walls surrounding her back yard. It really had been a long time since she'd just played with the kids like this. Life got busy, and she was consumed with the day-to-day business of caring for the children. Between managing her own business and satisfying Maury's frequent cravings, she managed to spend time with them, but she never really just _played_ with them.

She was more likely to be telling them to stop fooling around, wash up for dinner, put away their clothes, get ready for bed. Maybe Tifa's yearning for her own baby was making her realize that her boys weren't babies anymore, and she'd been missing out on the best part of their changing personalities.

"Dinner's ready, Miss Yuffie."

As always, Nissa approached in silence. She was the one from whom Yuffie had learned to sneak in the first place, until she was good enough at listening that Nissa could no longer sneak up on her. It made it so much easier to get away with things without getting caught.

But this time, Yuffie had let her guard down so much that she was just as startled as the kids to see her nanny standing in silence at the edge of the pool, Lonnie fast asleep in her arms.

"Whoa! Ok. Time to get out, boys," she said, surprised at how much time had passed. She glanced over to the hot tub. "Teef! Time for dinner."

Tifa seemed to be deep in thought, staring down at the surface of the water. The ends of her hair trailed in the water, splaying out around her like a dark stain. She must have been really absorbed, because she didn't respond at all. Yuffie pulled herself out of the pool and wrapped a towel around herself.

"Come on, Tifa," she said, walking toward the hot tub. "Didn't you hear? Nissa said…" her voice died in her throat. Tifa was propped up against the wall in the corner, but she wasn't contemplating the water. Her head was drooping on her chest. Her eyes were closed.

"Tifa!" Yuffie dropped her towel and jumped into the hot tub in front of her friend. She lifted Tifa's head and slapped lightly at her cheek. "Tifa, wake up."

Tifa's eyelids flickered. "Tifa!" Yuffie yelled louder, shaking her shoulders. Tifa's eyes opened briefly, unfocused, and then closed again.

"Maury! Maury, get out here and help me!" Yuffie yelled, feeling more than a little worried, but not wanting to scare the kids and Nissa, who had already gone inside.

Maury appeared at the patio door, still dressed in his coat and tie from work. "What is it?" he called.

"Tifa won't wake up!" she said, her voice quieter now that he was outside.

The slight irritation on his face morphed into worry. He ran across the cement, his shiny black shoes splashing in the bits of water from the pool.

Maury's sharp eyes took in everything on the scene: the empty wineglass floating in the water; the ice bucket tipped on its side; the traces of wine and water trailing down to the drain in the cement; the second, unused wine glass waiting patiently for someone to claim it.

He picked up the overturned bottle and shook it. There was a tiny bit left in the bottom, but there was no real way to know whether she drank the rest or if it spilled.

He shook his head and set the ice bucket upright, the bottle inside.

"She just drank too much, Yuffie. She just needs to sleep it off."

"Are you sure?" Yuffie said smartly. "Looks to me like the rest of it spilled."

"Well, the fact that she's passed out with wine on her breath suggests—"

"Just help me get her out," she snapped, cutting off his lawyerly logic ramble before he could really get going.

Maury squatted down behind Tifa and grabbed her under the armpits.

"Alright," he said, "You lift her legs."

Together, they hauled her out of the water, Maury walking backwards until Yuffie could no longer reach from the water. She set Tifa's legs down and hopped out of the hot tub. Maury laid her shoulders and head gently on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Yuffie demanded. "We can't just leave her here. Bring her inside!"

"By myself?" Maury snorted. "Right."

Yuffie groaned. "Fine, we'll do it together. We're not leaving her out here."

Maury slid his arms underneath her and lifted her with a grunt. Yuffie stood between her legs and held on to her thighs. The awkward trio made their way back to the house, through the open patio door. Yuffie stopped abruptly when she heard Nissa and the boys talking in the dining room. Maury kept walking, nearly losing his grip on the limp body.

"Yuffie!"

"Shhh!" she hissed. "I don't want the boys to see her. Take her to the south guest room," she said, nodding in the direction opposite of the dining room.

"That's so much farther!" Maury complained, but he turned in that direction and lurched down the hallway.

When they finally reached the guest room, Maury plopped Tifa on the bed. Yuffie fussed over her, adjusting the pillows under her head, getting extra blankets from the closet and laying them over Tifa.

"What do we do now?" she said, propping her hands on her hips.

"Now we let her sleep," Maury said, promptly leaving the room.

Yuffie followed, pulling the door shut behind her, but her hand stayed on the knob.

"Maury…what if she's not just drunk? I mean, she had the miscarriage, she probably lost a lot of blood, and gods only know what Cloud gave her and what it might do to her."

Maury sighed and stuck his hands in his pants pockets. "So what do you want to do? Call a doctor?"

"I don't know," Yuffie said, turning to face him in the hall. "She'll be so embarrassed if a doctor has to come here to tell us she's drunk."

"Call Cloud?" he suggested.

"No," Yuffie said adamantly. "She'll talk to him when she's ready. I don't want him to force it on her when she feels like hell."

Maury spread his hands in a shrug. "Then we let her sleep. Now come on. Nissa made steak and potatoes."

* * *

"Did Tifa leave?" Jacky asked innocently as the adults dished up their plates. Nissa had gotten the boys started while she gave Lonnie her bottle, and they were nearly done eating by the time Yuffie and Maury showed up.

"No, Tifa's not feeling well," Yuffie said. "She went to lie down."

"Oh." Jacky looked down at his plate, but Nicky's eyes still glowed with hope.

"Can she play after she's done lying?" Nicky asked.

"I don't know if she's going to feel better by the time you go bed," Maury said, glancing over at his wife.

"Maybe tomorrow," Yuffie said stiffly.

Nicky was quiet for a few minutes. He sat watching Yuffie cut into her steak.

"Then…will you play with us, Mommy?"

His little voice was just so hopeful, and Yuffie suddenly realized how long it had been since he'd asked her to play with him. He must have gotten tired of constantly hearing 'no.' She smiled a little. "Sure, Nicky. I'll play with you."

"And me?" Jacky spoke up, excited at his brother's success.

"Of course," Yuffie said, forcing a smile for them.

She was worried about Tifa, and not only about her current state. She was worried about her behavior before she got in the hot tub, and about the fact that she'd been in the bathroom for over an hour before Yuffie came looking for her. But she didn't know what to do besides sit and worry, which was pointless. Playing with her kids would help keep her distracted while she waited.

It worked, for a while at least. But by the time the kids were tucked into bed that night, Yuffie was tired of waiting. She padded down to the south guest room and knocked softly.

"Tifa?"

No response.

Yuffie cracked open the door and peeked her head in. The wedge of light from the hallway illuminated Tifa's back. For some reason, Yuffie felt better seeing that she had rolled on her side. It looked more like she was sleeping.

She crept over to the bed and said her name softly, shaking her shoulder. "Teef? You awake?"

Tifa seemed to slowly come back to consciousness, squinting in the light from the hall. She whimpered softly and closed her eyes again, pulling her knees toward her stomach, almost curling into a ball.

"Tifa? Are you ok?"

"It hurts," she whispered, her face scrunched in pain.

"What hurts?" Yuffie demanded. Tifa curled up tighter, wrapping a hand over her belly. "Tifa! Tell me what hurts! Do you want me to call the doctor?"

Tifa groaned again, with a barely discernable shake of her head. "Just let me sleep."

Yuffie clenched her fists and watched her friend slowly relaxing, loosening the ball that was her body, her breathing gradually becoming calm and deep. Tifa had told her not to call a doctor, but she was barely coherent. Was she really in a state of mind to make that decision?

She finally decided to get a second opinion. She left the room, nearly plowing into Maury in the hallway.

"I thought you might be here," he said.

"Maury! She woke up and she said it hurts and she's holding her stomach and she said not to call a doctor, but I don't know if I should listen or just leave her alone or what."

Maury smoothed down his wife's hair with his hands, calming her.

"Is there another option?" he asked. "Maybe someone else who's not a doctor, but could help?"

"I'm not calling Cloud," she said sharply.

"I didn't mean Cloud," he said calmly. He had learned that was the best way to avoid an argument with his wife when she was riled up – keep his voice low and calm and pretend not to notice that she was about to blow a gasket. "Do you know anyone else who might know something about her condition but isn't a doctor?"

Yuffie nibbled on her thumbnail while she pondered it. She looked up, her eyes suddenly alighting. "Of course! Denzel is a med student, and she won't have to wake up to some stranger poking and prodding her!"

Without waiting for a response, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed.

* * *

Cloud poured the drinks as fast as he could manage. Seventh Heaven was incredibly busy that night, and Denzel needed some help keeping up. He was bringing the drink orders, Cloud was filling them, and Denzel delivered them. As much as Cloud hated working behind the bar, keeping Seventh Heaven running was not only one of their sources of income, but Tifa's heart and soul. When she came back – _if_ she came back – he wanted it to be just the way she left it.

The shrill ring of the phone behind the bar caught his attention. He poured the last two drinks and plopped them on Denzel's tray before reaching over to snag it.

"Seventh Heaven."

There was silence.

"Hello?" he said. "Anyone there?" He was just about to hang up when he heard a hesitant voice.

"I—is Denzel there?"

Cloud stopped, all of his attention suddenly narrowed to the phone.

"Yuffie?"

"N—no."

"Who is this?" he asked suspiciously.

"It's…uh…America. From the clinic."

Cloud blinked and shook his head. It didn't sound like Yuffie at all. It must have been wishful thinking. "Oh. Sure. He'll be here in just a minute."

He set the receiver down and signaled across the bar to Denzel. Denzel finished delivering his tray before making his way through the crowd.

"What's up?" he asked when he reached the bar.

Cloud had already gone back to filling orders from the people lined up at the bar, but he jerked his head in the direction of the phone.

"It's for you."

Denzel reached over the bar and picked up the receiver. Cloud didn't intend to listen in, but he couldn't help noticing Denzel's sudden posture change, the way he turned his body away from the bar. Unfortunately for Denzel, that wasn't good enough to escape mako-sharpened hearing.

"What's wrong with her?...Can you get her to wake up at all?...Did she say anything?...Ok, I'll be right there…." He glanced over his shoulder and looked at Cloud, quickly turning away when he saw him looking back. His voice lowered further. "Yeah, I won't. I won't! I'll figure something out…Ok…Ok. Bye."

He reached over the bar and tried to hang up the receiver, fumbling blindly. Cloud came over and put his hand over Denzel's, guiding it to the base. Denzel looked surprised to see him. Surprised and nervous.

"What's going on?" Cloud asked calmly.

Denzel started blinking quickly. "I'm really sorry, Cloud, but can you call in someone to cover me? I have to go. There's an emergency."

"What's the emergency?"

"Um, it's a medical thing," Denzel said.

Cloud crossed his arms and stared at Denzel. He was hiding something. "Really. Who was that on the phone? It didn't sound like Dr. Anton."

"No. It was…Joey." His eyes darted to the side.

"Really? Joey has an awfully feminine voice," Cloud said lightly.

Denzel suddenly found other things more interesting to look at. "Yeah, it's a she," he said quickly. "Josephine. She's new. Anyway, I've gotta go—"

"Denzel. Look at me," Cloud said sternly.

The young man swallowed hard, slowly dragging his eyes back to his adoptive father. It didn't even matter that he was fully grown, tall enough that he had to look down to do it. He never could lie to Cloud.

* * *

Yuffie stood on the front step, watching the traffic go by. Where was Denzel? He should have been there by now. Scowling, she suddenly remembered that Denzel didn't have a car, so he probably needed to catch a bus. She was watching the bus stop down the street from her house, so she completely missed the roar of the familiar engine.

Her stomach dropped as Fenrir screeched into her driveway. It was Cloud, with Denzel on the back.

"Where is she?" he demanded, striding toward her.

Yuffie looked past him at Denzel, who was still getting off the bike. "Denzel!"

"I'm sorry," he said, cringing. "I tried."

Cloud ignored them both, breezing past Yuffie and opening the front door himself.

"Excuse me! That's my house!" she said indignantly.

Cloud was not as regular a guest as Tifa in that house, but he knew where the guest rooms were. He ignored her and strode quickly to the room where she'd stayed the night before. He flung open the door, finding an empty bed.

"Yuffie! Tell me where she is!" he said, turning around to see her and Denzel catching up.

"Cloud, you shouldn't be here," Yuffie said.

Cloud came back down the hall toward the living room. "She's my fucking wife!" he snapped, pushing past her in the hallway.

"Your fucking wife who's afraid of you!" Yuffie snarled back.

Cloud stopped and lowered his head. He turned around to face her. "Yuffie, please…" he said pleadingly. "I need to see her."

Yuffie had her hands propped solidly on her hips, ready to honor Tifa's wishes at any cost, but his eyes made her pause. Damn those expressive eyes. She'd never seen him look so scared and worried. She almost wished he still hid behind that SOLDIER persona so she wouldn't have to feel the guilt from those eyes.

"Oh, Cloud," Yuffie sighed.

"Maybe we should let Denzel check her out first," Maury said softly. Yuffie spun to face him. She hadn't even realized that he'd been standing there. "We can…fill Cloud in on some things."

Reluctantly, Cloud nodded. Maury started walking toward the living room. "Let's sit down. We can talk in here."

"Come with me, Denzel," Yuffie said softly. She led him to the door of the south guest room.

"Thanks," he said. He looked at the door handle and took a deep breath before opening it.

Yuffie couldn't help but think of the little mouse he used to be. Looking at him now, so grown up, she could hardly believe so much time had passed. _She_ certainly wasn't old. How did he get so much older?

She wanted to know what he thought about Tifa, but she was more concerned about what Maury might say, left alone with Cloud, so she hurried back to the living room. She stopped at the threshold when she heard their voices.

"…but how could you do something like that?" Maury was asking. "Knowing how much she wanted it."

Cloud shook his head. "Tifa…doesn't know everything. She doesn't understand everything."

"And whose fault is that?" Maury asked pointedly.

Cloud sighed. "It's mine. I just didn't want to hurt her! You know Tifa. She's so tenderhearted. It would have torn her apart to know."

"I think she's pretty torn apart now," Yuffie said, walking in to join them.

"I know," Cloud said softly.

"Don't you think it would've been better to tell her those things instead of…doing what you did?" Maury asked gently.

Cloud dropped his head into his hands. "Yes. Of course it would. I can see that now, but…there's something that…I never told you guys."

_Now there's a surprise,_ Yuffie thought, but wisely didn't say.

"Tifa knows, but…" He lifted his head, looking distraught. "It's…private."

"I think we're in too deep to back out now, Cloud," Maury said wisely. "You'd be better off having us as your allies."

Cloud nodded slowly. "You're right. You're right." He let out a breath. "I trust you guys. I can tell you."

It had been a long time since Yuffie had really appreciated the tact and wisdom of her husband. She looked at him now, amazed at how easily Maury was able to peel back the complicated layers of Cloud Strife. Maybe she didn't give him enough credit for how good he was at his job. It was like he was coaxing a confession out of a witness.

Cloud pushed his hands through his hair and sat back on the couch. "I…still hear him. In my head."

"Him?" Yuffie raised her eyebrows.

"_Him_," Cloud repeated.

"You mean Sephiroth?" Maury asked.

Cloud looked over at him, surprised that Maury even knew his name.

"You hear _Sephiroth_?" Yuffie said shrilly.

"Yeah," Cloud said, looking back at her. "It's not all the time. Honestly, I hadn't heard from him for a long time. But when Tifa told me she wanted to have a baby, I heard him laugh. He _laughed_." A bead of sweat appeared on Cloud's brow. "And when she told me she was pregnant, I felt him move. I felt him like he was right there beside me, taunting me. The word was bouncing around inside my head: _reborn_. And then…plain as day, he said, 'You've killed me three times before, Cloud. What about this time? Can you kill _your own child_?'"

The room was silent. Sweat slid down Cloud's temple. Yuffie and Maury were frozen in twin looks of horror.

_'Cloud is the only person alive who can stop Sephiroth. If he was truly reborn, raised as Cloud's child…'_

Yuffie shook her head, refusing to finish the thought. All she could think about was little Denzel, so young and sweet, so desperate for some stability. His tortured soul had called out to Cloud's, and he had made him whole in parts Cloud hadn't even realized he was missing. If he found out tomorrow that Denzel was evil incarnate…well.

Cloud would let the world burn.


End file.
